


Sins of the Father

by Scribe32oz



Series: Seven Scrolls [21]
Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Action & Romance, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, Ensemble Cast, Established Relationship, F/M, Female Character of Color, Male Friendship, Novella, Pregnancy, Revenge, Series, Strong Female Characters, Western
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 05:06:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 84,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12857379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scribe32oz/pseuds/Scribe32oz
Summary: As Inez Recillos and Buck Wilmington prepare for the arrival of their new child, an unknown enemy makes preparations of his own to replace the child he lost because of them.





	1. The Splinter

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" T.V. series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide.

It sat in his mind like a splinter.

Bearing almost uncanny appearance to its physical counterpart, the splinter inside the mind of Don Alejandro Paulo had been there for some time, burrowing its way through his consciousness, slowly driving him mad with the insistence of its presence until everything around it festered and decayed. Those in the household of the senior Don Paulo might agree that the same was happening to their master and had been doing for some time now, ever since the news reached that his son was dead.

In truth, no one in the border community of Val Verde was particularly surprised to hear that Don Stefano Paulo had come to a bed end. No one that is, except his father who was blind to the flaws obvious to everyone else but him, regarding his son’s nature and character. From his youth, Stefano had assumed the respect garnered by his father for a lifetime of honour and regard for those around him, was Stefano’s to expect as well. When the young man learnt otherwise, he was often capricious and cruel in the methods he employed to redeem his wounded ego and while the older Don would always ensure those harmed were duly compensated, he did nothing to penalise the son he adored so much.

The gossipmongers who whispered their stories about Stefano’s behaviour blamed the cause of his inherently sadistic nature on the lack of a mother in the boy’s life. Donna Paulo had died giving birth to her only son and her loss had broken the heart of the husband she left behind. Thus Alejandro felt perfectly within his rights to give the child that was as all he had of her now, everything that love and money could buy. In doing so, he unleashed a wolf among them. Those who knew both father and son felt upbringing had nothing to do with it. Stefano was just one of those unfortunate realities of life where greatness was known to have skipped a generation and in Stefano’s case it was a bad thing for everyone involved.

By the time the boy had reached his manhood, the people of Val Verde had learnt well enough to keep their daughters from his notice. With his father’s men ever at his side, loyal to the son as they had been to the father during the Don’s time in the service of Santa Ana and the Mexican Army, he strutted through the small village and took what he wanted. Before they learnt better, many young girls had been defiled and violated, mostly against their will. The families that Alejandro could not compensate, he coerced with subtle threats against their livelihood until he was assured that his son could not be harmed or held accountable for whatever crimes the boy committed.

Alejandro was by a nature, a fair man. Most of the Val Verde held him in high regard even if they disliked his son intensely. For most part, the Don managed to keep his offspring under control, sending him away to school in the larger town of Ciudad Juarez for most of the year. Unfortunately as time grew and age caught up with Alejandro, there was no longer any way to keep the boy from his home. The ranch and estate through which Alejandro had made his fortune required youth to maintain its upkeep and finally when the boy turned twenty, he was recalled to take his place at his father’s side.

For most part the reunion and the months that followed was happy ones, there was no sight of the behaviour that had made Stefano so hated prior to his exile. Alejandro contented himself with the knowledge that his son’s youthful indiscretions had faded away upon reaching manhood and there was nothing to fear. Stefano proved himself to be responsible and dependable as he took on the part his father required of him and after awhile, even the villages of Val Verde had decided that perhaps the young man had changed for the better.

Until Inez Recillos began working at the main house.

Her mother, Paloma had been a trusted and faithful employee of the Paulo household for many years and the Don had to confess that from the lady’s homely features, he would not have guessed her for producing such a beautiful daughter. And there was simply no denying it. From the moment she had blossomed into womanhood, Inez had been one of the most sought after maidens in Val Verde. Men had asked for her hand from the moment she had been considered old enough to marry but Paloma would have none of it and neither would Inez for that matter. Like her mother, Inez was proud and she was filled with the youthful ideal that one must loved the man she wedded. As a man who had adored the wife who had left him, Alejandro admired that in the girl and was more than happy to provide her with employment when she wished to make her way in the world.

It was only after he had seen how Stefano regarded the young lady that Alejandro began to perceive a problem with the decision he had made. The boy was more than infatuated with her, he was obsessed. He made several entreaties to woo the young lady but while she was polite in her refusals, it was still a rejection and Alejandro could only watch helplessly as disaster prepared itself to strike. He did try to stop the situation from spinning out of control by informing Inez that her services were not required at the house, hoping her absence would take Stefano’s attention from her. Inez had accepted the situation, aware of the danger herself and had gone quietly, not wishing to provoke Stefano into something they would all regret.

Unfortunately, neither of them could count for Stefano’s reaction to their efforts.

Of course he said nothing to let on that he was displeased and waited until the night of a village festival to act. Alejandro did not witness the events himself but when he was told later on, was able to have a good idea of what had transpired. His son had broken into the Recillos home during the celebration and had dragged Inez out of her home and then attempted to violate her before half a dozen witnesses. No one of course dared to stop him and the young woman was forced to defend herself, using a broken bottle as her only weapon. Tearing a sizeable gash in Stefano’s throat, she climbed onto the first horse she saw, nearly hysterical, Inez rode out of town into the night and did not come back.

Stefano’s injuries were not serious but the scar left by Inez burned into his mind and no matter how Alejandro tried to convince him to let the matter go, the boy was determined to exact his revenge. Each time he looked into the mirror, Stefano saw the scar across his neck that would remind him forever that a woman had bested him and escaped with her crime unpunished.

As the time progressed, Stefano’s hatred grew more intense until finally he announced that he was leaving to find Inez and would not stop until he brought her home to face justice over her actions. Despite the bad blood between their families, Alejandro assured Paloma that Inez would not be harmed and allowed the faithful servant to work in the house still. Determined that Inez would be returned home unharmed by his son, Alejandro sent one of his best men to accompany the boy on his quest. Rafael was a man of honour and a believer in the old ways, if he swore to the Don that Inez would be returned unharmed, Alejandro could be assured that was how it would be.

Thanks to Rafael’s reports, Alejandro was kept abreast of his son’s activities even if the news was not always pleasant. Inez had been fleeing from town to town like a fugitive, with Stefano never more than a few weeks behind her. Those she had befriended were often killed for their trouble and Alejandro felt a pang of sadness at the actions of his son even though he dreaded the day when Inez would make friends that Stefano could not frighten or kill. Unfortunately that fear culminated into reality with the arrival of the younger Don into the town called Four Corners.

Inez had decided she was done with running from his son and Alejandro could almost envision the look of defiance on her beautiful face when she made that decision. With her lover coming to her defence, the day of reckoning finally arrived for Stefano and he was killed, run through by the sword he would have used to kill Inez’s lover. Alejandro accepted the news stoically at first; telling himself over and over again that the deed was done and no amount of vengeance would bring his son back. It added further insult to injury when he learnt that Rafael had fled rather than come home and face his judgement, having been partially responsible for the death.

Don Paulo returned to life in Val Verde without his son, all the while forcing himself not to think of the fact that the boy had been killed in the streets. When the body was returned to him, he felt numb and allowed his most trusted friends to handle the funeral arrangements. Paloma had left his employ then, aware that there was simply too much between their families for her to continue working for him. Don Paulo made no effort to stop her and spent much of his time alone, ruminating on the lonely years ahead with no wife or son to mourn him when the end finally came.

He did not know what inspired him to keep tabs on Inez’s progress. He had told himself over and over again, that he was beyond the petty needs of vengeance, that what was done was done. There was point in lingering on the notion of such a thing when it served no purpose. Revenge would not restore his son to him and would only complete the descent into darkness that Stefano had embraced so willingly until he became consumed by it. However, as the days of loneliness seemed to stretch with no end inside, the old Don started thinking about Inez and the part she had played in the death of his beloved. She and her lover.

Then he learnt about the _baby_.

At first he was outraged by audacity of her. How dare she presumed to bring life into this world when she had been the instrument of seeing his son’s ushered out of it. For the first time in too long, he began to feel the waves of anger churning inside his gut until his fury was a fire stoked from embers of defeat and despair. Suddenly, reality began to shape differently in his mind. It was not Stefano that had pursued Inez but she who had lured him with her heavy lashes and her coy smile, teasing his desire into an obsession he was not responsible. It was Inez who had dragged him to that gringo town across the border. It was Inez’s lover who had murdered his boy.

Suddenly, the idea of vengeance did not seem so foolish and began to take shape in his mind as he thought more and more about the life she was leading while having denied Stefano his own. The Don smouldered at the idea that Inez was playing whore to the man who had taken his son away from him and was not bearing his bastard child. A child who had no reason being alive when Stefano was dead. With each passing day that he envisioned the child growing and slumbering inside Inez’s belly, Don Paulo became angrier, his hatred for her becoming a kind of sickness that was reaching critical mass.

When the house of Paloma Recillos, occupied by the lady herself and her younger daughter Calla was razed to the ground, every one in Val Verde knew that the Don had been responsible even if no one was brave enough to say it out loud. Paloma and Calla had managed to escape the fire in time but were not foolish enough to remain in town if this was the first expression of the Don’s long dormant need for vengeance for the death of his son. Before the embers of the home she had raised two children in on her own had become cold, Paloma and Calla were already riding hard towards the border. If this was only the beginning of the Don’s revenge than Paloma did not anticipate a lot of time to pass before he would go after her daughter.

As they left Val Verde behind them, possibly forever, Paloma Recillos could only hope that Inez still had her guardians in the town of Four Corners.

She was going to need them soon enough.

 

 


	2. Never say Nunca

She knew it was not supposed to be easy, this decision she had made for herself.

Of course, it was not so much a decision made as one forced upon her, no matter how much Inez Rosillos might believe that she had come into this situation by choice. She had not. A night of inebriation and passion had brought this upon her no matter how times she chose to tell herself that she had felt that the time had been right to indulge her desire for Buck Wilmington. The decision had been made by the tequila that had been running through her veins that night not the need for him, which she had managed quite successfully to restrain until their encounter in the saloon. Even now, Inez blushed furiously whenever she recalled how demanding and passionate she had been in her desire to have him. Suffice to say, she had not been able to look at Ezra’s favourite card table again and God only knew how the gambler would react if he ever learnt what had transpired on the felt covered surface that night.

She did not regret the act that had brought her here to this point in her life because their coupling had been everything she dreamt it to be. Like every woman in Four Corners, who had chanced to idle away with secret curiosity about the truth regarding Buck Wilmington’s prowess between the sheets, Inez had wondered how true those stories actually were. While she knew with some measure of pride that it was she he loved, Inez had chosen to keep him at arm’s length because she was never devolving into just another notch on his belt if she ever gave in to him. Strangely enough, when she had succumbed to her desire for him, he had been more surprised than she. The result of that incredibly steamy night of love making which still had her tingling from lips to curled toes when she thought about it, was this bundle of joy that was presently making her advance across town a sheer hell.

It was not easy to cross the short distance between the saloon and the main street of town when her body felt it was busting at the seams. Heavily pregnant, Alex had estimated that Inez had another week or two before her baby was due to finally arrive. Unfortunately, the doctor had also added that pregnancy seldom went according to plan and if the baby chose to make its arrival sooner, Inez should not be surprised. It was this advice that had her leaving her room in the saloon and waddling across town, searching for a place to rent. Inez had no intention of raising her child, illegitimate as it was, from a room inside the Standish Tavern.

  
However, coming to this decision had created another problem and this was one to which there were no easy solutions. The lodging houses already considered her a bad influence because she was unwed and pregnant. Add to the fact that she was also Mexican and most of the good Christian folk were ready to brand her a wanton, among the others things that were whispered in quiet sniggers whenever she happened past. Thus, she knew without even bothering to inquire at their front doors that she would not be welcome there even if she dared to ask about renting a room on their premises. This did not leave a great many opportunities because Four Corners was not that big a place which limited space for rentals. While Julia Pemberton had offered her a place to stay now that Rain had found herself alternate accommodations, Inez found that she could not impose herself and a baby on the emporium owner, no matter how generous the offer. Besides, she wanted a place of her own, where she could put wallpaper up for a nursery and indulge herself in the foolishness entitled to all new mothers.

It did not take long for Inez to realise that she was not considered in the same ilk as most new mothers, since they usually tend to be married. With that stigma following her closely, Inez soon found that there was no one who was willing to rent her any premises because she was what had been brazen enough to deem ‘not the kind of bad influence’ they would like in their presence. Bad influence, Inez had snorted walking out of the place, with her head held high and full of dignity, how could she influence anything? She was so full with child she could barely see her shoes, let alone spread her wanton immorality to anyone else with a display of loose living.

Despite their rude and sometimes cruel rejections, Inez was determined that they saw nothing of the pain she felt. She would share her stung feelings with no one because she was too stubborn to allow them the satisfaction. Only after she was out of their sight would the tears come and Inez made certain that they were gone from her eyes before she entered another place and start the cycle a new. She had spent most of the day enduring this torture, until her back was so sore she could barely stand but Inez did not relish having to return to the saloon and have everyone look at her and make comment on how was a woman ruined. One who could not even find a place to live.

"Look," Inez said to Wally Levinson, who possessed a set of rooms above his barber shop that was barely fit for human habitation without extensive work on her part. Unfortunately, it was also the last place left in town where she might acquire permanent lodging for herself and her baby. Standing in the front room which did not look very impressive, there were cobwebs in every corner, broken windows and a ceiling that appeared it would leak the next time it rained. Inez knew that she was at the end of her rope and had to convince Levinson to lease this hovel to her because no one else would. Despite her attempts to hide the desperation from her face, Inez felt her heart sink as she realised that he was aware of her limited choices as well. "I can fix the place up by myself, I do not require you to make any improvements. I’ll even pay whatever price you think is fair." Her ability to negotiate had gone the way of her reputation since news became known about her pregnancy.

"You ain’t in any condition to pay it darlin," he said with suggestion clearly in his eyes as he travelled up and down her body with lascivious leer on his lips that made her skin crawl. Levinson was an ugly man with slicked back hair and rough, craggy skin who did not give patrons much of an incentive for better grooming at his barbershop. "Maybe after the baby, you can do a little something for me." He grinned and reached for her cheek.

Inez slapped the hand away before it could even make contact with her skin. "How dare you?" She said indignantly and took a step backwards.

"Well don’t get too uppity now," he retorted, straightening up with anger at her refusal. "It ain’t as if you don’t know how to do a little something for a man. You didn’t get that way being all sweet and innocent. You gave Wilmington little bit and if you want this place, you’re just going to have be a little nicer to me."

"Get out of here you whore!" He shouted angrily, grabbing the offending hand and dragging her towards the door that emptied into the steps that led into the street. "I don’t want you kind in here anyway." Levinson declared, fairly shoving her past the door and making a great show of his ire for those in the street. 

Inez felt her cheeks flush with crimson embarrassment as she stood at the top of the stairs, the centre of focus for anyone in the immediate vicinity. She could see the women whispering amongst themselves, with their narrowed eyes as they glared at her and left Inez with no doubts as to the nature of their discussion. The men merely shook their heads in disapproval, leaving the scandal mongering to the women who were more adept as such gossip than they were. However, they were all wearing the same expression of distaste on their faces as Levinson continued his tirade of ejecting from his premises.

"I don’t want your kind of filth here." He concluded and slammed the door behind her as he withdrew in the building.

Inez stood at the top of the steps, unable to say a word and fighting back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. She was so tired of walking and she longed to sit but knew that she could do neither until she was safely inside her room at the saloon, away from the eyes of those who were ready to brand her a whore because she was pregnant without a husband. Even though her lips trembled and her glistened with tears that had yet to spill down her cheeks, Inez swallowed the lump of humiliation down her throat and raised her chin with pride, unwilling to let them see that she was hurt.

Her determination to hold herself with dignity made the onlookers continue on their way, deciding that there was nothing else to see here. Inez was glad because she would like to disappear into anonymity when the back of resolve shattered and the tears she had been holding back all day finally came. Telling herself for the hundredth time that she should have expected this the moment she had decided to raise her child without a husband, Inez took a moment to regain her composure but found that was never nearly as easy to do as she intended.

"My dear, are you all right?" A sympathetic voice asked her.

Inez looked up and discovered it was Audrey King that had spoken to her. Unlike the other women she had seen earlier, Audrey did not wear the same vicious expressing, oozing disapproval and Christian outrage at her condition. Instead, the schoolteacher appeared to be staring at her with concern.

"I’m fine." Inez said struggling not to cry. The lady bartender had never felt so vulnerable in her life and she was so exhausted. Inez had spent all day walking around Four Corners in the heat searching for a new abode and every disappointment was followed by unkind words from those who believed she was no better than a working girl. Her lower lip quivered as she spoke and knew that she nearing the edge of her emotional control.

"You do not look it." Audrey said automatically. "You need to rest and right now." The schoolteacher was not exaggerating. If anyone of these nasty prudes had bothered to look, they would see the young woman on the verge of heat exhaustion coupled with the usual stresses a body underwent at this stage of pregnancy. The girl had no business being on her feet when she was so obviously close to term. Surveying the immediate area for a comfortable place so that she could get off her feet, Audrey sighted Josiah Sanchez’ church and knew that at least there, Inez could sit for awhile without being insulted by everyone who felt like it. "Come along." She took Inez’s arm by the elbow and guided her towards the church.

"Thank you.’" Inez whispered in a small voice. "You’re very kind."

"And you’re very brave." Audrey said with sincerity.

"Brave?" Inez shook her head in disagreement. "I am not brave. I am stubborn, stubborn and foolish."

"Its no sin to want to bring life into this world Inez," Audrey remarked as they crossed the street and made their way slowly towards the church. Inez could not walk very fast and just judging by the strained and flush expression on her face, Audrey could tell that she was very near the end of her wits. Audrey did not know Inez that well, having met her a number of times as one was apt to do in a small town and could imagine the trials she must have endured these past months as her pregnancy became prolific. Audrey supposed that as a good Christian woman she should be having nothing to do with Inez but then anyone who would turn away when this young woman needed understanding and support during this time, would hardly be Christian at all.

"I did not want, I had no choice." Inez muttered, knowing that she was very close to letting herself be overwhelmed with self-pity. Inwardly she felt stupid that she allowing this to affect her the way it had, after all insults like this were not unusual to her, not now. Throughout her pregnancy, she had been treated as pariah by the town and while it was hurtful, she had managed to maintain her dignity at all times. Yet today, it felt as if the culmination of all those unkind words, nasty looks in the street, derisive whispers following the back of her were gathering for a final assault on her delicate state of mind. "I let one night of passion take place and look what I’ve done to myself." She glanced at her belly feeling shame for the first time over her situation.

"Now stop it." Audrey said firmly as they reached the foot of the steps leading to the main entrance of the church. "You are extremely upset and you have a right to be. The coming of a child, no matter how it entered the world should be a cause of celebration not of sorrow. You chose to have your child and raise it instead of discarding it the moment it is born or worse yet, attempt to end its life in the womb. What you have chosen to do is hard enough when one is married but alone?" Audrey shook her head unable to fathom what it would have been like to have her Lilith without her husband’s support. "I could not do it."

"I do not whether I can either." Inez confessed and the words sounded like ashes in her mouth. "I cannot even find a place for us to live. I will not raise my child in a saloon. My baby deserves a proper home, not a small room where it spends the day listening to drunks and working girls."

Audrey could see her problem and knew of no solution. While she would suffer a great deal of disapproval if she offered Inez a room and Audrey was quite willing to do it, she had the feeling that Inez would not accept. She wished that there was something she could do to help the young woman who was terribly depressed over this one issue which seemed to be the impetus that was compelling Inez to question her entire decision to have her child.

"Good morning ladies." Josiah Sanchez entered the conversation when he emerged from the entrance to the church. The former preacher had heard the duo talking whilst inside the building and came out to investigate.

"Good morning Josiah," Audrey smiled at him in turn. "Do you think the Lord will take umbrage at us for using his house as a temporary refuge?"

"Not at all," he said joining them on the street. "It is there to offer refuge and sanctuary." At this point, Josiah noticed that Inez had not spoken and then took a closer look at the young woman. Josiah’s relationship with Inez was a close one, knowing that part of the reason for that was because Inez was a product of her Catholic upbringing where the preacher in their lives was not someone to be seen merely on Sundays, but also a spiritual adviser in all things. Their friendship had evolved beyond that in the years of their acquaintanceship and thus Josiah knew that she was quite distressed by the forlorn look on her face.

"What’s happened?" He asked automatically.

"Inez just needs to sit down for a spell Josiah," Audrey said looking at him intently, trying to signal with her eyes that this was a subject best discussed indoors, away from the prying eyes that had been the cause of Inez’s upset. "She’s been walking around all day and I think it’s taken its toll on her."

"Of course," Josiah answered, even though he did not understand what could be so important to make a woman in the ninth month of her pregnancy take to the street, especially when its effect on her was obvious. Inez looked flustered and was breathing hard, increasing Josiah’s concern, which was exacerbated by the fact that he knew nothing about women in this condition. Helping her up the stairs, he saw the extent of her anxious state of mind when she let out a sigh of relief when she passed the threshold of the main entrance. Josiah exchanged a glance with Audrey, trying to discern what would demoralise this earthy young woman to such an extent that she would feel such relief just being off the street. He did not believe it simply had to do with exhaustion.

Josiah did not press until Inez was nestled on a pew and Audrey had asked directions to the backroom, where she could brew a cup of tea for Inez, since the lady seemed to need it, leaving her to Josiah for the moment. Inez was still quiet, trying to regain her composure, Josiah guessed and not doing a very good job of it. "I’m sorry Josiah," she said after a moment, raising her eyes to meet his. "I did not mean to impose on you like this."

"Don’t you worry about it." Josiah replied taking the seat on the pew beside her. "You want to tell me what’s wrong."

"Oh Josiah," she leaned her head against his shoulder. "I don’t know what to do. When I found out about the baby, I knew there were going to be problems but now I can’t even find us a place to live! I don’t want to raise my baby in a saloon. I owe it a better life than for it to grow around gamblers and drunks."

"Inez," he said reaching for her hand. "I think the only thing the baby will really need is you. It doesn’t matter where it grows up as long as you are there for it."

"I know you are right but its getting so hard," she whispered. "If I were smart, I would just accept Buck’s proposal of marriage and be done with it. Then at least my child will not be considered a bastard." She said with unusual bitterness.

"If that’s what you want, it would be the smart thing to do." He nodded but not agreeing. "But if isn’t what you want, then you’re compounding one problem with another."

"I’m scared Josiah." She said finally, telling him the truth she had been starting to feel this morning, pressing up on all sides of her with every place she visited looking for a home. Until now, Inez had successfully driven away all her insecurities about what she was planning to do, using sheer determination to override all the negatives in her decision. She had no idea why it was bothering her now that she was in the 11th hour of her pregnancy. She had endured months of cruel taunts and derisive remarks and though she had been stung had not nearly been as effected by them as she was this morning.

"You ain’t got nothing to be scared about." Josiah declared firmly, unaware that his powerful voice was comfort in itself to Inez. "You got friends that will help you through anything, who don’t give a damn about whether or not you are married. Your child is a source of inspiration and hope to all of us. We won’t let you feel fear because we’ll be standing right there by your side even if you don’t need us."

Inez wiped the tears that ran down her cheeks at his words, wondering if he had any idea how much she needed to hear those words of comfort. "Thank you Josiah." She replied wrapping her arms around him and giving him a grateful embrace. "I know I’m doing the right thing and it will all work itself out later but I guess it just got to me today."

"You don’t got to explain." Josiah smiled warmly; glad he was able to help and hoped that she and Buck worked things out soon. She was a strong woman, possibly one of the strongest he had ever met and worth the effort that Buck was presently putting into winning her affections. While Buck would never really lose the eye for the ladies, Josiah had been impressed by his abstinence from partaking of company with the opposite sex since he learnt he was to be a father. Furthermore, Buck’s role in the horse ranching venture he had partnered with Chris and Vin to get running proved that he would soon be able to provide for a young family.

She was about to respond, when Audrey emerged from the next room with a steaming cup of tea. Josiah found himself feeling a surge of affection for the schoolteacher who had been kind enough to see past convention and tradition to offer Inez the help she needed when she had been so distraught. Audrey handed her the cup and then sat on the other side of Inez as the Mexican sipped the warm beverage and allowed its calmative effects to get her nerves under control.

"Are you feeling better now?" Audrey inquired, encouraged by the absence of Inez’s previous flustered state.

"Yes," Inez answered, shifting her gaze between Audrey and Josiah as she responded. "Gracias to both of you." She smiled and surprised herself when it did not feel forced. "I think," she said taking a deeper sip of her tea. "That I will take myself home and leave this whole business of house hunting for a day or too, today’s experience has taught me that I have to rethink my plans a little."

"Well don’t be too discouraged." He said making a mental note to bring this subject up with the rest of the seven when he saw them later that day at the saloon. Clearly, Inez was going to need some assistance in finding a place to stay and in her condition, she was hardly in the position to go knocking on doors as today had proved so prolifically. Besides, knowing how stubborn Inez could be, hell would freeze over before she would ask for help.

Declining any need for assistance as always, Josiah and Audrey watched Inez’s departure a moment later, feeling deepening concern for her welfare. Neither spoke as they saw her make her way out of the building and Josiah reminded himself to have another talk to Buck. He did not like to meddle in other people’s affairs but the situation between the duo needed resolving. Until today, Josiah had not realised how much of a strain she was under and wondered if Buck knew himself how close Inez was inching to breaking point.

"Poor thing." Audrey sighed after Inez was no longer in sight, making preparations to leave herself.

"It ain’t easy for her." Josiah agreed and wished that sometimes, people were not so damn judgemental. The only one who had the right to do that was the Good Lord himself. "She’s a stubborn woman with a lot of pride. It’s a hell of a combination."

 

"Any possibility that she and Mr Wilmington will marry?" Audrey turned to him and asked.

"I’d say a good chance." Josiah replied, considering the question. "When both of them grow up." He said with a hint of a smile and then faced her. "Ma’am, it was mighty nice of you to offer your kindness to her. It has been rough on her, more than she let’s on I think." He said still staring at the door as if Inez was still in his sights to be seen.

"It’s my pleasure Josiah," she flashed him a radiant smile when he glanced in her direction again. "I have my own ideas on what it takes to be a good Christian and being vicious is not one of them."

"You are a truly a lady without peer." He bowed gallantly and took her hand in his, planting a soft kiss on her hand.

Audrey blushed despite herself and cleared her throat. "Josiah, would you like to come to supper one night?"

Now it was Josiah’s turn to be surprised and suddenly his smooth and confident manner vanished as he pulled his hand back and stared at her with a hint of anxiousness. "I’d like that." He said after a moment knowing that he would like to spend the evening with her even though he never expected her to be the one to ask first.

"Tomorrow night?" She suggested, wondering whether the impulse to ask him had come from. Of course, she had been attracted to him since their first meeting but Audrey was still too raw inside from the loss of her husband and was unprepared for the introduction of a new man into her life. She knew that Lilith came to see him at the church some times which was source of complete amazement to Audrey because her daughter had never seemed to like churches or men of the faith before coming to Four Corners. However, she took to Josiah with the same affection that she had regarded her father and Audrey felt deeply grateful to the man for that alone. "I know Lilith would be thrilled."

"I’ll look forward to it." Josiah called out as she started to leave, wondering what other surprises the day had in store for him.

**********

It was late afternoon when Inez finally stepped through the batwing doors of the Standish Tavern, feeling as exhausted as she looked. Although the patrons of the saloon had become accustomed to seeing her in this condition, it was not easy for Inez to endure their eyes as she moved slowly through the place, trying to reach her room at the top of the stairs as quickly as possible. Even though she had enough duties to keep her busy without being at the front bar, Inez nevertheless felt as if she was as if she was not doing as much as she ought to. Rain had been terrific in her place and Inez could not help feeling slightly jealous at how the customers had taken to her. Especially when the Mexican looked at herself in the mirror and saw her body twisting out of shape and felt her back ache no matter how hard she tried to get comfortable in a chair or on a bed.

  
To make matters worse, Buck Wilmington was in the saloon, sitting at the table occupied by Ezra, Vin, Chris and JD. Of all the people in the world she could have encountered this afternoon, he was the one she least wanted to see. Even though it was no fault on his part, Inez felt mocked by his presence. She felt angry that he was not suffering what she had been going through these past months, even though he was just as responsible for her conditions as she was. How is that a man could father as many children as he liked, married or not and still be considered a stud animal to be admired by others while women were vilified as whores if they happened to be unmarried if they were with child? The unfairness of it all infuriated her and made her in turn mad at him. Deciding that it was best that she avoided him all together, Inez headed towards her room instead of the kitchen as she originally intended. After the day she had, she could think of worse things that hiding in the confines of the home she did have.

Unfortunately, Buck had seen her and immediately left the game he was playing and headed in her direction. Inez groaned inwardly, not at all prepared to deal with him in any shape of form in the condition she was in at this moment. However, her present shape and size made it somewhat difficult to avoid him and Buck reached her in seconds.

"Hey Inez," he greeted.

"What do you want Buck?" She snapped.

Buck stiffened, seeing that she was in one of those moods again and prepared to adjust his own demeanour to compensate, otherwise they would be screaming at each other in seconds. "Ezra’s says you were looking to move out of the saloon."

"Yes." She said shortly, not wishing to let him know just how dismally that idea had developed since its original inception.

"That’s good," he replied, trying to be supportive, aware of how difficult it was in town for her, with people’s attitude to her pregnancy at the moment. Moving out of this place into a real home seemed like a good start "Did you find anything?"

"No." Inez answered coldly, barely able contain her temper now because she really did not want not discuss this with him. She could just hear what he would say as surely as he had spoken it a thousand times before, that she would not have to endure this if she had just married him.

"At all?" Buck looked at her somewhat surprised. "Ezra’s says you were gone for most of the day."

"I didn’t find anything all right!" She exploded. "Nobody in this town wants to rent premises to a whore! The only people who were remotely interested, wanted me to have sex with them first. Look at me Buck! Am I in any shape to have sex with anyone? It was sex that got me into this mess in the first place! Now will you please leave me alone!" With that she continued up the stairs, leaving the room in stunned silence and surprising herself by not giving a damn any more.

Buck watched her disappear into her room once the rumble of noise had returned to the saloon following her outburst. He turned around and found a few patrons still regarding at him with amusement and curiosity but the expression of his friends at their table mirrored none of this. Instead, they all seemed equally concerned about the scene they had just witnessed. Buck decided that this had gone on long enough, he and Inez needed talk. Throwing caution to the winds, he hurried up the stairs in pursuit, determined he was going to get through to her once and for all.

For nine months, she had fought him and swore at him and done everything possible to keep him away. While she had included him in the progress of the baby’s development, she was determined that there would be no repeat of the night that had seen its conception. Buck could not understand why she was still keeping him at arm’s length when he had proved to her, much to his own amazement as a matter of fact, that he could be faithful to her. Staying away from other women had been the hardest task Buck had ever set himself but he did because Inez was worth it. He had loved her from the start and he was determined to show her that he was worthy of her love.

She was probably going to throw him out, Buck thought as he reached the door to her bedroom and took a deep breath. He glanced at the floor and saw Chris peering up from under his hat and giving him a nod of encouragement. Buck felt like he was about to enter the lion’s den. Anyone who had ever seen Inez’s temper would know that was not a far-fetched comparison. Buck decided he was not going to knock either because doing so would give her the chance to lock the door on him and he wanted to have this out once and for all.

Barging into the room, without giving her any warning whatsoever, Buck froze at the doorway when he found Inez lying on her bed sobbing. Any thoughts he had about taking the bull by the horns evaporated at that moment and he stood there dumbfounded not knowing what to say. He had this whole speech prepared in his head in the few seconds he had marched purposefully to her door and in typical female fashion, she had come up with the perfect rebuttal before he even had a chance to open his mouth.

"What do you want?" She looked up at him, eyes filled with tears. She did not make any move to throw him out and that alone told Buck that something was very wrong, aside from the obvious.

"Darling what’s the matter?" He said closing the door behind him and stepping forward gingerly, still uncertain that there was no danger. She continued to weep paying no attention to his presence inside her room and Buck took a moment to examine the surroundings, since decor had been the last thing on his mind when he was here last. It looked nothing like a room in a saloon, there were flowers in a vase and curtains on the only window. While nothing could mask the noise of the revellers below, he was surprised by how cosy it looked.

"Oh Buck," she sat up in her bed and tried to stop her tears but seeing him only made her cry harder and harder because he was the whole reason she was in this mess. "Look at me!" She exclaimed. "I’m fat and ugly, the entire town thinks I’m a whore! I can’t find a place to live and I’m going to be raising our child here!" She looked around the room distastefully. "Oh Buck, I’ve made a mess of everything!"

Buck sat down next to her on the bed and handed her his handkerchief, actually his scarf but he didn’t think she’d complain too much at this point. "Inez, you haven’t made a mess of anything. People in town are just old fashioned that’s all, they don’t mean to bad." Buck did not believe that for a moment but provoking hre anger was not a good thing to do at this point. "I’ll ask around, we’ll find you something, I promise." He wrapped his arm around her. "Inez, you ain’t alone in this. I’m gonna be there every step of the way."

She dried her eyes and looked at him. "Thank you Buck." She swallowed, feeling guilty that she was so hard on him and almost believed him when he said that. Inez really did need some good news at this point.

"Inez," Buck said taking a deep breath, hoping this did not make things worse now that he had managed to stop her crying. "Maybe we ought to really think about getting married. It’s time Darlin’, " he implored her earnestly.

Strangely enough, she did not refuse outright or protest vehemently as she usually did, instead, she sat down and considered the question. Until today, Inez had been convinced that she could carry this baby on her own and raise it. However, her experiences today had driven home more effectively than anything else that happened in the last nine months that if she had difficulty enduring the insults and the terrible things people had said to her, how on earth was a child going to understand such a barrage? She did not want to leave Four Corners or the friends she had made here. Inez would not have made it this far without their friendship and support and running was the coward’s way out and no one could ever accuse her of being that.

"I think you’re right Buck." She nodded meeting his gaze seriously.

Buck stared at her. Of all the responses he had expected from her when he put forward the question, that was the answer he least expected to get back in return. His jaw dropped open and all he could do was stare. "You serious. You’re not just toying with me?"

"Buck," she let her gaze drop to her swollen body and replied. "Do I look like I am in any position to toy with you?"

He had to say no.

"So you’ll marry me." Buck asked again just to make sure, he had not heard incorrectly. For some reason, he was not elated even though by all rights he ought to. After months of pursuit and abstinence, it appeared as if all his efforts were rewarded. Except that Buck looked into her eyes now and saw nothing there that might indicate the passion they had felt for each other the night their child was conceived in this room. She looked at him like a creature defeated, begrudgingly accepting his proposal because she had no other alternative. Even though he did not voice it, Buck was hurt to think that she was agreeing only because she had to, not because loved him and wanted to spend her life with him.

"That’s what I said." Inez replied with a small smile, searching herself for the happiness she should be feeling at a time like this and finding none. All she could feel was this deep well of confusion that did not abate even when he leaned over and kissed her. Inez felt his mouth against hers and felt nothing more than the satisfaction of knowing that she had done the sensible thing. In truth, she was still uncertain whether or not this was the right decision to make.

In the last few minutes, Inez told herself that it was time she stopped being selfish. Her desire to prove herself to everyone that she was capable of handling any situation even one as volatile and difficult of this was proving her undoing. Her child was not a point she had to make, it was a life deserving of all the things she was capable of giving it and that included a name and father. Buck Wilmington might not be the ideal husband and she could not say if she would make him an equally good wife but Inez loved him and she knew at the very least, he would be a devoted father to her child.

Right now, Inez had more need of him for that than anything else.

  
"When do you want to do it?" He asked stiffly, still feeling as uncomfortable about the whole thing as she did but neither could say voice it because there was too much at stake.

"I’m not sure," she replied, aware that something had changed between them and not for the better. "I’ll sleep on it."

"Good," he nodded slowly and got to his feet. "I’ll leave you to get some rest." Buck answered, trying to sound as casual as possible but everything in his eyes indicated otherwise.

* * *

 

"Well she hasn’t thrown him out yet." JD pointed out as he looked up at the door behind which Inez’s room was.

JD as always was more vocal about his curiosity even though everyone at the table shared it. Ezra kept glancing surreptitiously to the room when he thought no one was looking, in between dealing cards to his companions and checking his own hand. Of the seven, he felt most protective of Inez because of their deep friendship and mutual partnership in the running of the Standish Tavern. Inez, in tandem with Nathan Jackson, had been a plague upon his conscience, always giving him that subtle nudge back to the path of righteousness whenever he considered straying off it in the eternal search for monetary gain. He hated the fact that her reputation was sullied by the situation she now found herself in and worst of all that it was sheer pride that kept her from redeeming herself.

"I am certain that Mr Wilmington will let us know how he progressed in due time." Ezra said without looking up from his cards even if he was mindful of everything transpiring around him. "In the meantime, would you be so kind as to tell me if you wish to sit on those cards or not?"

"Sorry," JD said sheepishly and quickly averted his attention to the hand he was holding and tossed down two cards after a brief examination.

"Maybe they’re finally talking." Vin added his own speculation. "If you ask me, they should have done that long ago." The tracker drawled lethargically with that lazy voice of his, which seemed even more so on a hot afternoon like this. It was late in the day and the saloon was almost filled to the brim. It appeared as if everyone wished to escape the heat of the afternoon sun and had remained inside the establishment longer than they should have.

Chris did not comment, mostly because it was none of his business and because he was the last one to make conversation about anyone’s relationships, least of all Buck’s. While he had to admit that Buck’s relationship with Inez had never been a simple matter because they were both so stubborn and proud to compromise on anything, he had hoped that there would be some form of détente declared in light of the child that was coming. Chris could picture Buck with a child because his old friend had been so good with Adam. As difficult as it was for Chris to remember, he knew that Adam had adored Buck almost as much as he had loved his father and Buck had been similarly grieved when Adam and Sarah were lost.

"He’ll figure it out." Chris said quietly, his tone of voice indicating to the others to keep him out of any further conversation regarding this particular subject. No sooner than the words have left the gunslinger’s mouth, the door to Inez’s room swung open and Buck walked out of the room, looking not at all happy.

"I guess they didn’t talk as much as we thought." Vin remarked quietly as Buck started down the stairs.

However, Chris was watching Buck closely as the man descended the stairs, aware that something was wrong. Buck was one of the easiest people to read because he felt things passionately and freely, it was one of the reasons that made him and Chris such life long friends. Yet as the lawman approached his friends, Chris could not fathom what was going on in his eyes. The look in them was cold and impenetrable, immediately putting the gunslinger on guard, even though there was no reason to be so suspicious.

"I’ll see you boys later," Buck said pausing at the table long enough to make that statement before he started out of the saloon. There was enough menace in his voice for everyone at the table to know that it was not wise to inquire what had happened up during his encounter with Inez. Buck did not wear this expression on his face often but when he did, even Chris knew that he was not in the mood for company. Unfortunately, JD had not learnt this particular lesson yet and missed all the signs completely.

"Hey Buck, what happened with Inez?" JD called out before anyone could stop him.

Ezra winced. Vin rolled his eyes in resignation and Chris’ breath held for a moment as Buck Wilmington turned around and walked back to the table slowly. With that same expression of stone, he looked at the younger man and answered. "Inez has agreed to be my wife. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have arrangements to make." Saying nothing more, Buck left the table and subsequently the saloon as well.

"Well he is thrilled." Ezra remarked.

  
Vin shrugged, not making any response to that while JD was more confused than anything. For the last five months, Buck had thought of nothing else but the idea of marrying Inez. He had spoken about it, ruminated endlessly on why she refused him and even called her crazy when she claimed she could do everything herself. Now that she had finally agreed to the marriage, they thought Buck would be ecstatic about it, not angry and sullen as he was now.

Chris told himself that Buck was an adult and could handle his problems on his own. He told himself this repeatedly, over and over again in the stretch of seconds that followed Buck’s departure from the saloon. However, he also remembered that Buck had always been there for him when Chris needed his most, whether it was in a fight or just to play whipping boy to Chris when he needed to vent his anger and grief out on something or someone. Buck Wilmington had kept him alive when he was ready to kill himself after Sarah and Adam died and suddenly Chris came to the realisation that it was his turn to do the same for Buck.

"Deal me out." The gunslinger stood up abruptly and tossed his hand on the table. Without offering any explanation, Chris hurried out the saloon.

* * *

"Buck!" Chris called out as he caught up to the man who was making his way down the board walk towards the direction of the lodging house where he had a room.

Buck looked over his shoulder at Chris’ approach and paused. "What’s up?" He asked tautly, his voice almost as icy as some of Chris’ best efforts to appear unfriendly to potential enemies.

"Just wanted to see if things are okay." Chris replied. "You seem a little bothered."

"It ain’t like you to care Chris," Buck retorted sharply. "Do us both a favour and let it go."

Now Chris was certain something was definitely wrong.

He did not like seeing Buck this way. He was the only one who was supposed to be this disagreeable about anything. The dynamic of the seven operated with him being the lone, brooding leader, while Buck the happy go lucky ladies man. Start interchanging these roles and the whole thing collapsed.

"Not so fast pard," Chris said in that laconic voice of his that indicated he was not going anywhere until he had his answer. "For years, you’ve been sticking your nose in my business." Chris pointed out. "I’ve told you to get lost, hell I’ve even hit you a couple of time, wanted to shoot you at others, but you’ve held on harder than a flea on a dog. So you don’t get away so easily now that the tables are turned." Then in a gentler voice Chris urged. "Come on Buck, what’s wrong?"

"What’s wrong?" Buck swung around and glared at Chris. "I’ll tell you what’s wrong. She’s marrying me all right but not because she wants to, she’s doing it because she has to."

"Buck you don’t know that," Chris said trying to come to Inez’s defence and at the same time, reassuring Buck that that this was not the case. Inez did love Buck that much was plain to anyone who’s ever seen them argue. He could not fathom why Buck would think such a thing.

"Yes I do." Buck returned sharply. "When you look at Mary, you know exactly what she’s thinking. You love a woman enough and you can see her soul through her eyes. It’s a wonderful feeling when you gaze into a woman’s eyes and know that she loves you without hesitation or doubt. I looked into Inez’s eyes a moment ago and all I’ll saw was a whole lot of nothing!"

  
"Then don’t marry her." Chris retorted and cursed himself for doing so as soon as the words left his lips. Damn, he was not good at this sort of thing!

"She’s carrying my child Chris!" Buck roared as angry as Chris assumed he would be. "I can’t just walk away! Whatever has gone on between Inez and me ain’t the baby’s fault. I know what its like to grow up without a father Chris, I know what its like to have people look at you and say the things they do when they think you ain’t listening. I don’t want that for my child."

"Buck she loves you." Chris tried to convince him because he needed to believe it and because Chris believed it was the truth. "She’s scared as hell at the moment and she has every right to be." He searched himself for the right words and knew he was grasping at straws when he opened his mouth again. Buck was staring at him, relying upon Chris to say something that would prove his beliefs about Inez was wrong. "People have been treating her like trash since the baby started showing, after awhile that’s got to take a toll on a person. I think a lot of what she feels for you is hidden under a lot of hurt."

Buck swallowed hard and nodded, not hearing what he needed and feeling so many doubts because he had not. He loved Inez and he wanted to make her happy but he did not know what to do now. "Doesn’t this just take the cake?" Buck sighed. "All these years and all those women and I find the one that I know can make me forget all the others and she don’t even care that I would give up anything for her. All she needs me for is my name."

"Buck I’m sure it ain’t like that at all." Chris spoke up in Inez’s defence and wondered what in God’s name had happened between them in that room to bring their relationship to this. "This should have been seen to long before it got to this point. She’s about to have a baby under a lot of pressure from everyone including you to do the right thing by it. That’s got to make a person a little crazy."

"I hope you’re right Chris," Buck said finally as he resumed walking again. "I really do."

Chris hoped he was right about Inez too but in truth, he was not so sure.

* * *

Shortly after Chris Larabee and Buck Wilmington had made their abrupt departure from the Standish Tavern, the trio left in the wake of Buck’s startling news was discussing amongst themselves the ramifications of a Buck Wilmington, married. The concept alone was so alien to everyone present that they were only able to process the information with a new round of drinks. Understandably, JD was the more confused of them all and considering the nature by which Buck had delivered his announcement, neither Vin nor Ezra could blame him for his puzzlement. Indeed, they were somewhat bewildered themselves at Buck’s reaction when everything they knew regarding his attitude towards marrying the sultry Mexican barmaid should have implied that this ought to be the happiest day of his life. Instead, the ladies man acted as if he was going to be marched up to the altar at gunpoint.

"I don’t understand either of them." JD declared. "I mean, she loves him, he loves her. It should be simple."

"It should be Mr Dunne," Ezra agreed taking a sip of his whisky. "But things seldom are. Inez is a proud woman with specific ideas of marriage and a very Catholic upbringing. She has discarded much since fleeing from the nefarious Don Paulo in an effort to survive but at the very heart of her, she is a traditionalist and Buck is hardly the most ideal material for a husband."

"That’s true." Vin nodded but then surprised himself by rallying to Buck’s defence. "But he ain’t been near another woman in months." The tracker pointed out.

As they continued their discussion, none of the lawmen paid much attention to a rather well dressed man who passed them by as he entered the saloon. The stranger was immediately greeted by Rain who was tending bar the counter and the trio paid him little mind than that, assuming him to be just another one of the passengers from the recently arrived stage, looking for a drink after a lengthy journey. The stranger in his tweed suit spoke briefly to Rain after she had served him his drink and then headed in the direction of the table she had pointed him towards when he had made his inquiry of her.

Ezra, Vin and JD were still engaged in their discussion about Buck Wilmington’s relationship with Inez, when the stranger reached their table and immediately halted them from continuing their conversation any further.

  
"Do something for you mister?" Vin asked politely, unaware that in Chris’ absence the others looked to him to take the lead. His hand dropped under the table and immediately drifted towards the Winchester resting in its holster. Unconsciously, Ezra shifted his hand slightly on the table, moving it into position should the derringer up his sleeve be required. JD was not so subtle and his movements were noticed almost immediately when he went to do the same. However, the distraction he provided, gave Ezra and Vin time to be prepared to back him up if there was danger here.

The stranger was a heavy man in his late forties, his bald head hidden under a bowler hat in better condition than the one worn by JD but not too dissimilar. He had noticed the suspicion in Vin’s voice when the younger man had asked the nature of his business at their table and placed both hands on the table where they could see it, in order to convey to them that he meant no harm. "My name is Walter Clemens." He introduced himself first. "That charming young lady over there," he glanced at Rain and offered her a smile even though she was serving customers and did not see it. "Indicated that you are the law in these parts."

"We just keep an eye on things." Vin replied. "What can we do for you mister?"

"I am a detective from Pinkerton." Clemens introduced himself, deciding that it was best to get to the point. The men before him did not appear to be the patient kind.

"You are a long way from the east, Mr Clemens." Ezra replied first because he knew that Vin did not think much of Pinkerton detectives, not after that the last one in town had tried to frame Josiah for a number of serial murders.

"I go where the job takes me." Clemens replied. "Might I sit down?"

"I don’t see why not." Vin kicked a chair gently towards the man from where he was seated.

Clemens sat down promptly and took a sip of his glass of Red Eye before addressing the men before him once again. "I’m wondering if you’ve been aware of any new arrivals in the last year and a half." The man inquired.

"Railroads coming this way Mister," JD retorted. "Lots of people have been coming through."

"You would have noticed this person." Clemens returned promptly. "I’m been employed by Donald Avery of Philadelphia."

"Donald Avery, the real estate magnate?" Ezra asked for clarification.

"It figures you’d know that Ezra," Vin said with a half smile. When it came to knowing where the money was, Vin knew no one else with as much acumen as Ezra Standish. The man could spot money a mile away and smell it too, Vin was certain.

"It just so happens that Mr Avery is a millionaire. He used to buy land, make it a dozen times more valuable than it is and then sell it for an extremely tidy profit." Ezra retorted haughtily.

"You keep yourself very well informed Sir." Clemens said with a hint of admiration.

"I enjoy reading the business news." Ezra explained. "One can never tell when an interesting snippet of information might serve one’s purposes."

"Whatever," Vin shrugged. "What does Mr Avery want here?" He asked Clemens, getting back to the subject at hand.

"He’s searching for his daughter." Clemens answered automatically. "Apparently she ran away from Philadelphia a year and a half ago, leaving a very disgruntled fiancee standing by the altar and almost driving the old man to his death bed from the shock. I’ve traced her movements as far down the line from Philadelphia to Eagle Bend but no further. I’ve spent the last two weeks visiting every town in the Territory trying to find her, so far no luck."

"Territory is a big place," Vin commented. "There are towns here that ain’t on maps, if she’s hiding. She could be anywhere."

"I suppose," Clemens admitted, unhappy about the prospect about spending more time here than necessary. "Fortunately, the old man in quite determined to find his daughter and he’s willing to pay. Until he decides different, I’ve got a job to do."

"We’ll help if we can," JD volunteered. "What can you tell us about her?" He was eager to sink his teeth into a little bit of sleuthing work with a Pinkerton detective.

"Quite a bit." Clemens responded. "She is apparently quite the beauty. Most of the men I talk to about her were not willing to even admit to seeing her, determined to protect her secrecy. Apparently the lady was extremely accommodating, if you get what I mean." He said with a suggestive tone in his voice.

Suddenly, Ezra had a very bad feeling.

"Tell me," he said casually, betraying nothing in his smooth southern voice. "Does the lady perchance have a name?" Ezra was almost afraid to ask but he had to know.

"Yes she does," Clemens replied feeling somewhat foolish he had not mentioned it prior to this and fumbled through his pocket for a few seconds before producing a worn photograph which he placed at the centre of the table for all to see.

"Like I said, a beauty isn’t she?" Clemens commented, unaware of the fast and furious glances that were being exchanged at the table as Ezra Standish, Vin Tanner and JD Dunne found themselves staring into the elegant features of Julia Pemberton.

"Yes," Ezra said quietly. "Quite the _beauty_."


	3. Men of Honour

 

When Chris Larabee had initially made the decision that he would take up the reins of his former vocation as a horse rancher, he had been motivated by the belief that it was a man’s duty to be able to provide for his family. After all, as financially independent as Mary was on her own, Chris knew he could not expect for things to remain as they were and he wanted to contribute something to their life style instead of maintaining the status quo on a dollar a day existence. Horse ranching seemed to be the most logical choice at the time, since in all honestly he was not equipped to do much else, although admittedly he had never tried. However, as the venture became more than just discussion to Vin, Buck and himself, Chris found himself looking forward to it.

It was hard starting the actual work because the doing of it brought back memories of Sarah and Adam and Chris had never been able to cope well with those. He was aware that it was easier to think about them now that he was married again and no longer suffered the painful ache that those recollections brought with it. It surprised him even more when he found he was able to talk about his lost family and focus on the good times they shared now that he had some answers to the questions that had plagued him in the three years following their death. Chris was aware that he was healing and the obsession to torment himself with grief had released him in the wake of his marriage.

When he put the first nail in the first corral that they had started to build on the parcel of land chosen for their little enterprise, Chris had felt those memories flooding back with forceful intensity but surprised himself when he shrugged away the pang of grief they engendered. There was a time when he would have been completely overwhelmed by it and was secretly rather proud of himself that he had managed to keep it under control instead allowing it to control him as it often used to do.

The more he and the others continued working on the ranch, building stables, corrals and all the other structures necessary for the business they intended to nurture on this stretch of earth, Chris found another surprise in store for himself. He had missed working with his hands and using tools instead of a gun. There was something deeply satisfying about seeing something one built with one’s own hands. He never thought he could have become so accustomed to anything as domestic as mending fences or going to horse sales again after the life he had been leading, but he did. It was not just the work but also the camaraderie of working alongside Vin and Buck.

Occasionally Ezra would take a look at the books and point out that they should not be spending too much money on this and that and managed their finances rather expertly so that they received maximum use out of their combined resources. Other times Nathan would pitch in when he was not busy with the healing he did when there was no trouble around while JD would delight in accompanying them to the horse sales. It was not hard to remember how young JD was when one saw his enthusiasm and Chris admitted the kid had a good eye for horse flesh considering he had come from the east and spent most of his life in a city. Josiah who had more or less finished the work on his church except for a few embellishments would come out to the ranch mostly to commune with nature and God as he put it.

Even though Vin and Buck were technically his partners, the truth was the ranch had become a group project and Chris enjoyed working with his friends during the day for something other defending the town against outlaws and all the other trouble that seemed to come with being lawmen. After months of work, the ranch had taken definite shape and it would not be long before they could officially say they were open for business. Chris was especially pleased that Vin had become attached to the shack that had been his home in the early days of his life at Four Corners. Even though the young man’s wagon was left at the side of the house, Chris knew that Vin enjoyed the solitude of being away from town as well as having some place to call home. In truth, Vin spent more nights with Alex than he ought but Chris knew what it was like to love a woman and yet wish to spare her reputation.

Buck on the other hand was working hard in every possible to prove to Inez that he could be a worthy husband. It had surprised even Chris, the determination in which he launched into this endeavour. With a child on the way, Chris supposed Buck would act no other way. Chris was aware of Buck’s history, that his mother had been a working girl and his fine appreciation of the fairer sex had come from association with the girls occupying the bordello he had been raised in. Whoever had been Buck’s father was probably a question not even his mother could answer and Chris knew Buck did not want his own child to end up the same way of never knowing its father.

Buck was in a foul mood today and it was odd, seeing him this way. Chris had become accustomed to Buck’s easy going personality and seeing him mad for this long bordered on the fascinating. Chris smiled faintly as he saw Vin trying to draw the man into conversation, when usually it was the other way around. Both men were attaching gates to one of the holding pens they had, since there would be horses occupying the enclosure soon enough. Judging by the frown on Vin’s face, his attempts were proving tedious as Buck did not seem in the mood for it. Chris left them both, deciding he would occupy his time working on the barn until the point when Vin’s temper got the better of him and Chris would have to pull them both apart.

He was still involved engaged in this worthy pursuit when he suddenly heard the slight trot of an animal on approach. Chris put down the tool he was using and walked out the barn door to see a rider nudging his animal to the house. With the noon day sun burning down on him, Chris squinted through the sweat in his eyes to see whom his visitor was. As always, his holster remained slung over his shoulder as he started walking towards the shack, poised to fire if the stranger was here for any dark purpose.

Upon reaching the shack, Chris realised that there was no danger, well not really. The Mexican standing at his door, knocking politely was no enemy. He wore the suit of a Mexican gentlemen, but the ornate holster and gun that slung around his hip indicated he was anything but. His approach brought the man’s attention to him and he burst into a grin as he saw Chris.

"Compadre." He greeted. "I came here to find you and I see you have become a farmer."

"Raphael," Chris replied with just as much humour. "I ain’t no farmer, I’m a rancher."

"You giving up the gun?" Raphael teased as he met Chris in a friendly handshake.

  
"Does it look like it?" Chris asked, glancing at the weapon draped over his shoulder.

"That is good," the man smiled. "I would be distressed to know that I will never see more of your work."

By work, he of course meant Chris’ gun slinging abilities. Raphael who was rather talented with a gun himself had ridden into town two weeks after Inez had first arrived, alongside of Don Paulo who had an obsession with the young woman and was determined to have her one way or another. As one of his protectors, Raphael had been wrestling from the moment he arrived in Four Corners with his conscience and his duty to protect the Don even though the man’s actions were questionable to say the least. As one of the old school to whom honour was not just a word but a way of life, Raphael had eventually chosen principle over duty and saved Buck’s life. The last time Chris had seen him, Raphael was going to ground, certain that the Don’s father would demand retribution.

"You have a lady now?" Raphael met his eyes with raised brow.

"A wife." Chris nodded because it was an unspoken rule among the men of his professional ilk that domestication like this was usually brought on by an attachment of the female variety.

"Congratulations." Raphael replied. "I hope she is a good woman but beautiful."

  
"You’ve seen her." Chris reminded. "She was with Inez that day."

Raphael thought a moment, recalling the faces of the crowd because men like him always noticed everyone on such occasions. "The one with the gold hair." Raphael replied, remembering the lady in question and had to admit she was quite the beauty. "I compliment you on your choice. She is very beautiful."

"The best." Chris answered truthfully, unaware of the emotion that had crept into his voice as they sat on the porch and caught up with the news in each others lives. "So what have you been up to?"

"I’ve been seeing a little of this country and I am now on my way back across the border." Raphael answered. "There is a job waiting for me in Bolivia. A town there requires a man of a honour to be the law, an old friend suggested that I take it."

"That’s good," Chris said genuinely pleased for the man. Raphael was one of the few people Chris had taken an instant liking to even if they were both on separate sides when they had first met. However, their friendship had transcended that minor setback easily and they had parted as friends with a healthy respect for one another. "So are you staying a spell or you’re gonna keep going?" He inquired.

"I have to keep going unfortunately," Raphael replied. "It is unlikely that I will be this way for awhile but I thought I might say goodbye as well as relating some valuable information I think you should know." His manner hardened indicating that whatever intelligence he intended on passing was not entirely pleasant.

Chris tensed immediately, sensing a shift in the casual mood of the moment into something darker. "You got my interest."

"Your compadre," Raphael remarked. "The one who fought Don Paulo, is he still here?"

"He’s here." He answered tautly.

"I have heard news from some friends of mine who come from Val Verde that Don Paulo’s father is not well."

Chris sensed ominous news about to reach him and straightened up, staring intently at the Mexican as he waited silently for Raphael to tell him the rest. "How bad is he?"

"Bad enough that his mind is no longer what it was. They say that he now believes that his son was unjustly murdered by Inez’s lover and that he may seek revenge."

The timing could not be worse as far as Chris was concerned. With a baby in the equation, protecting Inez was extremely difficult even if everything Raphael was telling was the product of hearsay. However Raphael was a lot like him and not alarmist. If he had made a detour from his present destination to pause and give them this warning then it was not to be taken lightly.

"Inez family still lives in the town." Raphael pointed out. "It might be a good idea if the lady makes some inquiries into the welfare of her mother and sister. If the Don choses to carry out his vengeance, they would be the most obvious targets."

Chris agreed but Val Verde was on the other side of the Mexican border and Chris was reluctant to cross into Texas with Vin Tanner at his side to retrieve Inez’s family. Vin was still wanted in Texas and going around the state to get to Mexico would take time they did not have. "Is he likely to kill them?"

"Once upon a time, I would have said no." Raphael admitted honestly. "He was a good man in his day but his son was always cause for trouble. However, a man like that with only one child tends to protect that one child no matter how badly he behaves. He loved his son, misbegotten as the boy might have been. I do not know what he is capable of but I can tell you that the man can be ruthless if you inspire his wrath. I would take my warning seriously Larabee."

Chris did. Any threat to the people in his life was usually met with Chris’ fiercest determination to protect them at all costs. In truth, he had always suspected that Don Paulo’s father would make an appearance at some point. However, he had expected retaliation to come soon after the death, not almost two years later. "I’ll tell Buck but I tell ya, this ain’t the best time for this." Chris admitted.

"Is there ever a good time for such things?" Raphael looked at him with a raised brow.

"No," He replied. "But Inez is about two weeks or less from having a baby."

Raphael said nothing, feeling something twitch inside him uncomfortably. Like just about every man in Val Verde, Raphael had once entertained thoughts about Inez although nothing had come from it. He felt slightly disappointed that she was now irrevocably lost to him even though he was mystified at why he ought to feel this way when there had never been anything between them. He supposed it was in the nature of men to feel this way about any beautiful women they never possessed. "My congratulations to the lady but you are right, it makes things difficult."

"We’ll figure something out," Chris replied, trying to sound confident even though Inez’s pregnancy made things exceedingly difficult. If it were anyone else, Chris would suggest Vin take them out of town and hide them some place in the wilderness. With Vin as guide, the chances of anyone finding them were remote. However, Inez could not be spirited away into the wild, not with a baby about to make its arrival at any time and even sooner if the lady was aggravated. She needed to be near a town with a doctor when the time finally came upon her.

"Larabee," Raphael considered another point. "It puzzled me why Alejandro would have taken so long to avenge himself upon Inez. I thought perhaps it had been his illness that had sent him over the edge and made him come after the Senora now but I wonder…." He paused as his mind latched onto a most uncomfortable thought.

Chris caught the sudden reflection in his eyes and immediately reacted. "What?"

"Perhaps the reason why he is choosing to take his revenge now is because your compadre has much to lose, a wife and a new baby." 

Raphael’s struck a raw nerve because Chris knew from personal experience what torture that was for any man to endure. "You think he’s coming after Buck now so that he can kill Inez and the baby?" Chris’ voice was barely a whisper as he spoke.

"Yes," Raphael nodded, unsettled by the discourse he saw in Chris’ eyes and wondered what had inspired it. It could hardly be the threat he had outlined to Inez and the child. Larabee and his men were extremely efficient, the Mexican was confident that they could effectively take care of whatever threat Don Paulo could throw in their direction. He was certain that following his warning, Inez would be duly afforded whatever protection she might need until the crisis had passed. "The Don would rather leave the enemy alive to pay the penance of his crime rather than kill him outright and end his pain. Don Paulo is an intelligent man and his actions are similarly intelligent, I have seen him with enemies before and he dealt with them in the same manner."

"We’ll be ready for him if he comes this way." Chris said sourly, meaning every word of it should Don Paulo make an attempt for Buck or Inez. He disliked anyone who would use a man’s family as revenge and felt a personal stake in seeing that the same thing that happened to him would never happen to Buck.

"I leave it in your hands compadre." Raphael nodded, with no doubt in his mind that it would be that way.

* * *

 

Raphael stayed for a little longer and they moved off the subject of the Don, though not entirely before the Mexican was on his way south of the border once again. Chris bid the man farewell hoping that it would not be the last time he saw Raphael, since there were few men he considered friends and Raphael seemed to be one of them. Following his departure, Chris went to find Buck and Vin, guessing that they were still working on the gate and was relieved to see that neither had inflicted bodily harm on each other yet. He supposed he should have never thought otherwise. Vin knew how to let a man be when he did not want to talk. After riding with Chris for so long, how could he not know how to do that?

Instead, he found the work progressing quite adequately and was felt somewhat guilty that he was the bringer of such bad tidings. It was not as if Buck had enough to worry about at this moment with his troubles with Inez but now he had to deal with the emergence of a new enemy at one of the most vulnerable times of his life. It did not seem fair to Chris. In either case, his old friend had a right to know and as it always inevitably fell to him to deal with such things, Chris decided not to waste time with it. If there was trouble coming, then they would have to deal with it now.

"How you doing boys?" Chris asked as he saw Buck holding the new constructed gate in place while Vin was securing the new steel hinge attached to it onto the fence post.

"We’re getting there." Buck said as Chris came to help him with gate. The big man had discarded his shirt while his long johns were damp with perspiration under the arms and at the edges of his collar.

"Did I hear someone ride up?" Vin inquired, meeting Chris gaze briefly before he turned his attention back to the hinge he was screwing into place within the wood. The tracker had also discarded his shirt but had no long johns and showed how hard he had been working by the sweat forming on his bare skin.

"Yeah," Chris nodded. "Raphael."

Buck looked at him. "That fella who used to ride with Don Paulo?" The big man recognised the name immediately and did not let his surprise detract his attention from what he was doing.

"Yeah him." Chris said shortly as Vin tightened the final screw on the hinges and the gate was able to be supported without their strength to hold it up. Closing it shut, the trio regarded their work with some measure of satisfaction before they returned to the subject being discussed.

"How’s he doing?" Buck inquired as they walked back to the house for a drink of water after their labour in the sun.

"Heading back across the border," Chris explained. "Seems he has a job waiting there."

"I’d like to have said hello." Buck said with a hint of disappointment, never having the chance to say how thankful he had been to Raphael for standing up to the Don and saving his life. When the duel with the man had gone Buck’s way, Paulo, the coward that he was had ordered the hired guns on his payroll to end the fight with a gun. If not for Raphael’s timely intervention, he would not be standing here.

"Well I had a feeling he wanted to get going as soon as possible." The gunslinger remarked as they reached the water barrel under the pump and Buck cooled himself by using the dipper to drink.

Vin could see something in Chris’ manner that told the tracker immediately that there was more to the visit than just a hello. Chris was tense, more so than was normal for him and the man did not get that way without good reason. "Came here for anything in particular?"

"Yeah he did." Chris nodded and met Buck’s gaze. "It seems that he heard some rumours and thought he’d better stop by here and let us know, so we can be ready if anything comes our way."

Buck looked sharply at Chris. "Meaning what?"

"Meaning that Don Paulo’s father may finally be coming after you and Inez." Chris answered, deciding there was no way to make this news any easier to hear and so the best thing he could do was to just say it.

"Shit." Buck swore under his breath. "Now? He’s coming after us now?"

"Ain't no time limit on revenge Buck," Vin drawled. "You killed his son, thing like that just don’t go away, it gets worse over time."

"I know that," Buck said strongly. "But Inez, she’s in no condition to handle something like this…." He lapsed into silence worried not only about how she would take such news but also how it would affect her physically. The baby was not long for coming into this world.

"Well we got to move her from the saloon." Vin said decisively. "She can’t stay there, she’s wide open."

"She could stay with us for awhile." Chris offered. "I don’t see Mary having any trouble with that."

Buck was certain that Mary had no objections but Inez was another matter entirely, she was exceedingly proud and accepting someone’s charity was not something she could swallow easily. Hell he had enough trouble trying to convince her to marry him and then promptly told himself not to go there. "I suppose but I was hoping some place out of town."

"Here?" Vin suggested. "A couple of us could stay with her for awhile, keep an eye on her while we worked on this place."

"No good," Chris shook his head, not that it would not have been the ideal venue for Inez to be kept in safety. Don Paulo’s men knew about this place. They had been here personally with the man when they had first ridden into town and they had seen who had stood with Buck during the duel with Don. The connection could be made and that could lead them here. "They’ve been here. If she’s gone, they’ll know we stashed her somewhere and this is the first place they’ll come."

"We could keep her at Nettie’s." Vin replied again.

"I don’t think so." Buck said automatically. "Look, Vin I know you think Nettie is a fine woman and I ain’t disagreeing with you there but she…"

Vin stiffened, filling with the usual hostility that came whenever any disparaging remark was made against the lady. Chris saw the reaction and quickly moved to interceded. "Vin, Nettie’s got some pretty Christian ideas about what it is proper and what ain’t. I’m pretty sure that she’d find Inez pretty improper at this time don’t you?"

Vin blinked at Chris’ words and felt an immediate halt to his annoyance. As much as he thought about Nettie, the woman was indeed very old fashioned about such things, having been reminded of how she had reacted when she had once caught Alex and he in a less than discreet position. He could not deny that Chris was right in this respect and understood why Buck had rejected Nettie’s as a possible safe house.

"Okay, not Nettie’s," Vin conceded with a loud exhale, not liking to admit that Nettie could be painted with the same brush as all those hypocrites in town in respect to Inez’s pregnancy. "Where then?"

"I don’t know," Chris replied. "In the mean time, we’ll get Ezra to keep a close eye on her while she’s at the saloon and maybe we’ll stick around the saloon for awhile. At least until we think of something else."

* * *

 

Unbeknown to Chris Larabee, at the same time he was making that declaration to Vin Tanner and Buck Wilmington, his wife Mary was one step ahead already in preponderance to that question. Prompted in part by what she had heard about how Inez had been humiliated by Wally Levinson after walking from one end of town to the other looking for a place to set up a home with her baby, Mary had taken the afternoon to call on her friend. It was not the first time she had visited Inez at the saloon even though the community generally frowned upon the practise but they had learnt to accept that Mary Larabee was a woman of permissible eccentricities. Mary was their voice when they needed it raised in protest and they attributed much of their prosperity to her husband and the men he rode with. Thus she was allowed her unorthodox behaviour even if that meant association with a known wanton though they could not understand the friendship any more than they condoned it.

Inez had taken to her room and remained there her acceptance of Buck’s proposal of marriage and had no wish to see any one. Although she was not hostile when Mary found her, the editor of the Clarion News was perceptive enough to see the surroundings she kept herself presently, bothered her even more when she had company. Mary had a solution to her problems and hoped that Inez would not be too proud too accept it even though Mary was making the offer with the best of intentions.

"You don’t seem overly excited for a woman whose going to be married." Mary remarked as she pulled a chair next to Inez’s bed where the lady was lying. The room was not big enough to support and more than a bed, a chair and a dressing table and stand for a wash basin. She could understand why Inez had been determined to find a new home. This was no place to raise a child.

"Why should I be happy?" Inez grumbled, still locked in the depths of her sombre mood with everything that had taken place in the last day. "I am doing it for all the wrong reasons and I’m sure Buck knows it too."

Mary made no remark about that despite what Chris had told her about Inez’s statement being true. "You love him don’t you?" Mary asked the question that should have settled all of this.

"Of course I love Buck," Inez admitted begrudgingly. "But I feel I am not honest in my reasons for marrying him. All I can think of is the baby, of it deserving a name and a father. Not whether or not I need a husband to love me and share this with me."

"Inez, wanting the best for your child is always admirable," Mary reached for her hand. "But you cannot base a marriage on such uncertain foundations. I know that you have fears for your baby and they are valid reasons but you need to look into yourself to see if you are ready to marry Buck. A child is not stupid and you don’t want to find yourself resenting a baby for making you do something you should not have."

Inez swallowed thickly and closed her eyes as if all of Mary’s points had been driven to the core of her. Inwardly, she had been aware of all these fears but she was at a crossroads and there seemed no alternative but to take the path before her because the other was too hard. "I love Buck and I know he’s been trying so hard to prove to me that he can be a good husband and father but there is something inside of me that is still afraid of being hurt by him. Perhaps it is knowing just how much he could hurt me if I let him into my heart completely."

"We all take risks like that Inez," Mary remarked as she poured the tea she had taken the liberty of making in the kitchen downstairs before coming to the room. Handing a cup to Inez, Mary eased back into the wing chair and continued. "When you entered a marriage, you leave yourself wide open to hurt. There is no escaping that part of it. You plunge over a cliff and hope that there is no rocks beneath you and you will aloft."

"You make it sounds so inviting." Inez teased as she took a sip of her tea.

"Thank you," she laughed. "Can you believe I write just as enthusiastically?"

Both women chuckled for a few seconds and allowed the humour to drain from them before speaking again, enjoying the pleasant aftertaste left in its wake. "Thank you for coming to see me Mary." Inez smiled warmly, reaching for Mary’s hand and squeezing it.

"Well, expect Alex and Rain to turn up at some point today." Mary remarked. "I don’t know about Julia though, she’s been very scarce today."

"She’ll turn up when she turns up." Inez shrugged, knowing that Julia loved doing the unexpected when one was least prepared for it.

"Anyway, I came here to see you for a specific reason." Mary said getting down to business, now that Inez was a little more at ease and in her opinion, would be more responsive to the suggestion that she was about to make.

"I thought it was just the pleasure of my company." Inez looked at her with a raised brow.

"Naturally," Mary replied with a smile and then sobered when she began her proposal. "Now I think we’re both agreed that this place," she let her blue-grey eyes sweep over the room. "Is wholly unfit for you to raise a child."

"To put it mildly," Inez frowned unhappily at having it pointed out to her even if she was well aware of the fact. However, Mary’s friendship with Inez thrived on theirs being able to say out loud what most were too polite to.

"Well as you know," Mary began. "I still have the place that Steven and I owned just out of town. Its not too far away so you can still get to the saloon to manage it. There’s a good couple of acres around the house in the rare instance you actually want to grow anything on it. Steven had ideas about wheat but he liked farming much as I like churning butter and I think the real reason he bought it was for the nice trails you could ride through. The house is in good condition, I’ve seen to that although you have free license to fix it up the way you like."

Inez just stared at her for a moment, unable to believe Mary’s words and allowed her to continue.

"I was keeping the place for Billy but I don’t really think that he wants to go back. Too many bad memories of what happened there I suppose. As for myself, Chris and I like being in town, me for the paper and him because he can keep an eye on things better if he were in town most of the time."

"Mary I can’t afford to buy the place from you…." Inez stammered even though it sounded just perfect.

"Buy?" Mary looked at her. "Heavens no!" She exclaimed. "I never expected that from you Inez but the place has been empty for so long I do need someone in there."

"I will not accept charity." Inez said firmly, just in case the conversation was heading in that direction.

"Tell me something I don’t know," Mary gave her a look. "No I am proposing a business arrangement. A rental agreement between you and I with an option to buy in the future if you feel that you would like to take the place off my hands. Lord knows, the added income would be nice until Chris’ horse ranch takes off and you’ll have some place decent to live and raise your baby and not feel like you’re being forced into this marriage with Buck. Perhaps now, you can make the choice with a little less pressure bearing down on you."

"Oh Mary," Inez put down the cup of tea and leaned forward and embraced the woman warmly, not an easy thing to do since she had no waistline to speak off. "You don’t know how much this means to me…."

"I know exactly how much it means to you Inez," Mary said softly. "That’s why I know you had to have that place. It’s of no use to me now and it gave me and Steven a great deal of joy when he was alive. I want it to be the same for you."

"I don’t know what to say." Inez replied, still a little awed by the whole idea. She had seen the residence once or twice, whenever Mary had gone to the house after a big storm or some natural calamity that often promised damage to property in order to check to see if repairs were needed. Mary had never liked going on her own and Inez had often accompanied her for moral support. While it was not a sprawling mansion or anything, it had rooms, a kitchen, a fire place and a garden that had been left to neglect since a family had last lived there. Possibilities started emerging in her head almost immediately.

"Say yes." Mary declared.

"Yes!" Inez said eagerly, not wanting her best friend to think that she was even remotely anywhere near having second thoughts.

"It’s a little bare with the furniture though." Mary continued. "There is only a bed and a dresser in one room, a kitchen table and a few other chairs."

"I’ve saved money," Inez put that concern to rest immediately. "I can afford to buy new furniture, not a lot but what I will need."

Mary was about to respond when suddenly the door to Inez’s room knocked and the bartender sang out promptly for whomever it was to come in.

"Hey there." Alexandra Styles announced herself as she entered the room.

"You’ll have to sit up here," Inez gestured to her bed as Alex approached them. "Mary’s got the only chair."

"Ooh I am lucky," Alex teased, "Buck’s been dying to hear that invitation."

"Very funny." Inez retorted but found her mood too good to spoil after what Mary had just offered her.

"We’re just talking about Inez’s new place." Mary offered, exceedingly proud that she had been able to do this thing for her friends.

"You found something?" Alex brightened up hearing that news. "Great, where?"

"Mary’s old house out of town." Inez declared happily.

Alex flashed Mary a smile of admiration and showed her approval with her usual trademark sarcasm. "You really want Mary as your landlady?"

"Well she has you for her doctor." Mary returned just as sweetly. "That’s living dangerously as it is."

"Touche’" Alex laughed. "I’m so happy for you. I hear its really nice out there and peaceful too."

"I could use a little of that after the last few months." Inez let out a sigh of relief, pleased to have this one worry of her mind.

"No argument there." Alex agreed. "By the way, any of you seen Julia?"

* * *

 

Twenty-four hours earlier things had been normal in her universe. Far from just normal actually, damn near perfect. She had everything she had ever wanted in her life; independence, some measure of wealth, a position in the community that was self-made and most importantly, a man that she simply adored. However, with the arrival of Walter Clemens to Four Corners on the stage, all that had changed and now she was here in the house she had grown to love and would sorely miss, packing.

Julia Pemberton told herself that this was the best thing for her to do. She would get out of town for a few weeks, hide herself in obscurity until the man was gone and then return home and undo whatever damage, hopefully if any, that he had done during his inquiries here. Of course, she would drop Ezra a little note that she was going and that ought to keep him from worrying too much during her absence. It was probably the coward’s way of doing things but at the moment, Julia did not care. She had too much in Four Corners to lose any of it and so she was doing the most natural thing for her when things got bad, run.

Twenty four hours ago, she had been working in her office, going over fabric samples, trying to decide which ones she was going to select for the Emporium when the salesman came back this way in a week, believing that to be the height of tedium. She would gratefully endure that chore rather than to have a repeat of the unfortunate confrontation she had with Ezra regarding Mr Clemens’ arrival. Naturally, the bastard had to go to the saloon first which was more or less Ezra’s permanent place of residence whenever he was not doing whatever it was he did for the town.

When she had seen Ezra, she thought that he had come to whisk her away for dinner or something as he tended to do on occasion and felt the familiar joy of seeing him, until she saw the look in his eyes and knew immediately that something was wrong. In truth, she had seen something there for quite a few weeks but whatever it was, was something Ezra was not prepared to discuss even though he shared her bed at nights and woke up from terrible nightmares that left him in a cold sweat. While they had a rule of never keeping secrets between them, Julia could see something inside Ezra that was raw and wounded and knew that whatever it was, she would have to wait him out. However, when he walked into her office yesterday, it was she who was soon on the defensive.

He closed the door behind her and the first thing he had said to her was;

"Julia Catherine Avery," he stated and drove whatever she was about to say from her lips as she stared at him like a cornered animal. "Born in Philadelphia, only daughter to Donald Avery and…"he snorted as he said this. "Eleanor  _Pemberton_  Avery on November 6th, 1854."

Julia swallowed the lump in her throat, having no idea what to say to it and unable to deny any of it, except the rotating question in her mind at how he had come across that information. "Ezra I can explain." She stammered.

"Trust me," he stared at her. "I have every intention of letting you do that."

"How did you find out Ezra?" Julia asked because the question of how he knew surfaced some very unpleasant possibilities. "Is someone here?"

"As a matter of fact," he said coolly, realising by her reaction that everything that Clemens had told him, JD and Vin was utterly true. Even though none of them had revealed to Clemens that the woman in the picture was anyone they recognised, Ezra was astute enough to know her anonymity would not last. Clemens was a professional and no doubt he was asking around town right this moment, trying to see if they could find the woman in the picture. "There is a Pinkerton detective by the name of Walter Clemens, newly arrived off the stage, seeking with the tenacity of a blood hound the present whereabouts of a Julia Avery."

"Oh boy." Julia exclaimed and started thinking fast. "Its just him? No one else?"

"Are you referring to your father or your fiancee’?" Ezra asked sharply.

"Ezra," Julia exhaled loudly, not wishing to deal with him right now when her secret was so close to being uncovered. "He was going to marry me off to this son of a bitch that wanted me so he could get his foot into Philadelphia society. I had no choice in the matter. If I didn’t marry him papa would disowned me, I had no choice I had to run!"

"What about the aunt who left you all her money?" Ezra asked, since her story did not make sense if that was the case.

Julia shifted uncomfortably and guessed she had no choice but to tell him. "There was no aunt!" She exclaimed. "The rest of my family hates me. They think that because papa let me get away with everything all the time that it was what I deserved to me married to Roderick Packard, to be window dressing at his arm. The man is old Ezra! He’s almost fifty! I couldn’t stand the thought of him touching me, let alone being married to him."

She had returned to her desk after retrieving a leather valise from her cupboard. Pulling the bag open, she began emptying the contents of the drawer into it.

"What are you doing?" He demanded even though it was rather obvious.

"What does it look like?" She retorted.

"You are not implying that you are intending on leaving?" His expression was near horrified.

"I have no choice, I cannot let him find me." Julia stated, trying hard to remain compose. She did not want to leave Four Corners any more than he wanted to go but to stay and let Clemens find her was not an option. He would bring her father here and no doubt close on the heels of her father would be an extremely angry Roderick Packard who had enough money to see to it that she would dearly for the insult of jilting him at the altar. Just as he would take his vengeance out on anyone else she might care for.

"Where did you get the money Julia?" Ezra suddenly asked. From the day she had arrived in town, Ezra had assumed that there was some rich relative paying all the bills. The Emporium she bought and refurbished, the house she lived in required just as much attention, the money for that had to come from somewhere. Ezra had never asked before because it was none of his business but now, its origins had urgency about it.

"I couldn’t just leave without any money." Julia said going to the wall where a picture was hanging and removed it to reveal the small safe she had secreted behind it. Ezra had known of its existence although this was the first time he had seen it for himself. "None of my family was going to help me and I wasn’t willing to pay the price my male friends would like." She paused and met his gaze directly. "I was done playing whore to anyone. I wanted a new life where I did not have to rely on this face and this body to get by so I took steps to see to it that I would be financially secure."

Ezra did not like the sound of this.

"Papa had a safe like this one." She said opening the safe on her own wall at present. "I found out what the combination was because I knew he didn’t entirely trust banks, so he had a good deal of cash in the safe at all times."

"Oh Lord." Ezra winced and found himself a chair upon hearing that. "How much did you take?"

"Just enough to survive. I had a lot of jewellery of my own, wedding gifts you might say….."

"How much did you take Julia?"

"With the jewellery and money combined?" She looked at him nervously. "Sixty two thousand."

Ezra’s eyes widened. "Sixty two thousand dollars! You stole that kind of money from your father?" He exclaimed in shock.

"Papa is a millionaire!" Julia snapped. "He would have hardly noticed it."

"You have to give it back." He stated.

"Like hell I do.’ Julia exclaimed looking at him as if he was mad. "It’s my money. If I had been born a man, he would have left it to me. Instead he was going to marry me off to some coarse pig and put it in trust under my husband authority. How fair is that?" However, as she opened the safe and began removing its contents, Ezra saw a hefty stack of bills, along with bonds and other important papers that indicated she was far from financially destitute.

"How much is left?" He asked unable to deny that she had a valid point but their immediate problem required solution as well and for the moment, this seemed like the most sensible course of action.

"What do mean left?"

"Julia you have expended a great deal of money on the emporium and the house, I am assuming that you do not have a great deal of it left."

"Well," she cleared her throat. "Actually, I have a little more than what I originally started out with." She blushed slightly and brought Ezra to her from his chair, requiring an explanation to that statement.

"How much more?" He was almost afraid to ask as he rose to his feet.

"As you know," she said with a nervous smile. "The Emporium has been doing well and was making profit within six months and I thought that instead of letting that profit go to waste I might consult a lawyer in Sweet Water who specialised in investment opportunities. So I bought into a few little businesses which amazingly enough have been doing spectacularly well." She said this all without taking a breath which meant she was edging to a grand sum that was going to make his head swim.

"How… much?" He said slowly.

"Ninety two thousand dollars." She confessed.

Ezra had to sit down again. "You have close to a hundred thousand dollars?" He could barely get the words out. "And you not feel it necessary to tell me? What kind of properties?"

"Oh a little railroad stock here and there, some shares in a gold mine and couple of large stores in Eagle Bend and Sweet Water, one little place here…" She said quietly, hoping the first few examples would snare his interest so that the last would not.

No such luck. "Here?" He looked at her. "What did you buy here?"

"Promise me you won’t get mad." Julia declared staring at him seriously.

"Do not tell me…" Ezra started to groan as the realisation came upon him. "Please, I do not want to know….."

"Well you always said that you hated your mother owning the Standish Saloon so when she was here the last time, we talked and I offered a very good price and then she  _doubled_  it." Julia replied with a dark expression on her face as she revealed that snippet of information. "The woman has no shame. It was going to be a surprise…."

"A surprise!" He glared at her. "You thought that I would be surprised! Well I am surprised Julia by a lot of things. We had an agreement! No secrets."

Julia took a deep breath. "Ezra I couldn’t tell you."

"Why not?" He accused. "Did you think the money would have some bearing on how I felt about you? That I care so much that you are a millionaire’s daughter?"

"Of course not," she stammered. "I don’t know why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want any part of Julia Avery any more. You wouldn’t have liked her. She was a spoilt, opinionated brat who used every man she came across for some ulterior motive. When I left home, I left her behind. I never lied to you about anything except that."

"Well," Ezra said trying to calm his anger down. "We will deal with this when Clemens is gone but for right now, he is here and while Mr Tanner and Mr Dunne are assured of keeping their secrecy regarding your identity, I am certain that the rest of the town will not. Somehow, we are going to have to think of something."

"I am thinking of something," she declared continuing with her packing. "I’m leaving."

"Except that." Ezra stopped her hand from reaching for the safe again. "You are not going to run like some terrified child. As one who has done that on numerous occasions, I can tell you it reeks of permanence."

"I can’t let him find me." She said firmly.

"We will just have to return the money to your father and tell him that you have a life here." Ezra replied.

"Return the money?" She stared at him. "Are you out of your mind? We’re talking about almost a hundred thousand dollars?"

"Will you kindly stop reminding me how much money is involved, I find that it is severely hindering my good judgement to keep my greed in balance!" Ezra snapped. "I am attempting to handle this responsibly."

"Why don’t we get away from here?" Julia exclaimed. "We could travel a bit and come back when he’s gone!" She suggested.

"And that is not helping." He looked at her critically. "Julia, you have to give the money back."

"No," she said defiantly. "I don’t have to. It’s mine. I earned and I’m not giving it up and its a hundred thousand dollars!"

God this sounded so familiar, Ezra thought to himself and suddenly had an idea of how he sounded to the rest of his friends. He winced hearing the figure once again, wishing she would refrain from bringing up just how much money was involved. He was fighting his baser instincts like she could not possibly imagine. "Yes but when you give back what is owed you will still have a considerable amount of money left and your house and the Emporium."

"But giving back the money will tell papa where I am and he will come here." Julia said trying not to hide the real fear she had. "I’m not ready to face him Ezra, if ever."

Ezra could understand her dilemma yet he could see no solution out of the problem. "Julia you have to face him at some point."

"No," she shook her head. "I won’t. He’ll come here and he’ll try take me back!"

Ezra could start to the see the real cause of her hesitation and suddenly realised it was not the money at all but that fact that she was terrified out of her wits of being discovered by her father. "Julia, you know I will not let that happen."

"You don’t know my father." She stuttered fearfully as it started to overcome her. She snapped the bag close. "I won’t let him take me back, Ezra! I won’t go back to that again!" Without saying another word, she grabbed the bag and ran out of the room.

Whether or not he followed her, Julia was not certain because she had not looked back to find out. She had not even gone back to her house, she had climbed on her horse and ridden immediately to Bitter Creek, with every intention of leaving forever. However, sense prevailed and she returned the next morning, making her way straight to her house and careful that no one saw her when she did. Julia set to work immediately, packing her trunks and ensuring the necessary arrangements would be made for an absence of some weeks.

She wanted to say goodbye to Ezra and explain what she was trying to do but somehow, she knew he would only attempt to talk her out of what she intended and that unacceptable at this moment. Once preparations were made, Julia penned a letter to Ezra and one to Mary because Mary was the only other person in Four Corners who knew that Julia Pemberton had been her own creation. Locking the door behind her as she gazed at her house one final time, Julia hoped Ezra would understand and believe that she would come back when it was safe.

It he did not, then it would matter little anyway.

* * *

"Now you know what you’re going to say to her?" Nathan asked Josiah as the preacher left the front entrance of his church and started making his way to the home of Audrey King.

"Yes," Josiah looked at the healer as Nathan dusted some lint off the shoulder of his coat. "Nathan, I have been to supper with a lady before this."

"Yeah,’ Nathan replied, more or less ignoring the remark. "But she ain’t like Miss Maude, Mrs King, now she’s a fine lady."

"You don’t need to tell me that." Josiah becoming slightly annoyed that Nathan underestimated his ability to recognise that Audrey was a proper, Christian woman who was just out of the ordinary enough to be very attractive to him.

"Give her these." Nathan handed him a bunch of flowers tied with string.

"What’s this?" Josiah groaned, starting to wonder if Nathan thought him to be a complete novice at this. He knew how to charm a lady. He knew verse and prose and he certainly knew how to talk to one without saying anything stupid.

"Well I don’t you see bringing her anything." Nathan pointed out with a smug expression on his face that only deepened Josiah’s desire to wipe it off.

"Give me that." Josiah snatched the flowers from the healer and then said firmly. "I think I can handle things without your assistance, Brother Nathan."

"All right, all right." Nathan said backing off because he recognised the line of tension in Josiah’s voice that said he was going to hit something soon and if Nathan was not careful it was apt to be him. "Have a good time Josiah."

"I’m having supper with the lady and her daughter." Josiah letting out a deep breath. "I look forward to a pleasant evening but there is no good time to be had."

"Of course." Nathan said with a completely straight face and only succeeding in making Josiah’s eyes roll with resignation as the preacher turned and walked away. When he had put suitable distance between himself and Nathan, the healer was joined by the familiar voice of JD Dunne.

"Hey Nathan, where’s Josiah going?" The youth inquired.

"Going off to dinner with Mrs King." Nathan said with a faint smile as he started back towards the saloon since he had the rest of the night to himself and Rain seemed to be spending most nights in there anyway.

"She’s a decent woman, not anything like Maude, although don’t tell Ezra I said anything." JD remarked as he walked with Nathan and then muttered. "Hope he brought her flowers."

* * *

 

Josiah found himself in front of Audrey’s front door a short time later, still stinging with annoyance at Nathan’s presumption. After all, he knew how to talk to a lady. He had done it on numerous occasions even if he was not always lucky in love. In truth, the fairer sex always had the power to move him greatly although he had to confess to being a romantic which sometimes clouded his judgement a little. However, he did not feel this way for Audrey and he liked the woman herself who had shown him yesterday afternoon what she was made off when she had offered kindness to Inez when the young Mexican had needed it most.

In truth, he had wanted to approach Audrey for some time now but had been held back for a number of reasons, the most prominent being the fact that she had only recently lost a husband and it was never wise to crowd a widow in mourning. However, he had become fast friends with her daughter Lilith, who was now Billy Travis constant companion. Lilith was not like other children and she had some very strange hobbies, the least of which was an untapped talent in magic which Josiah had been attempting to temper before she caused mischief. He poured over the books she brought him, somewhat fascinated by the pagan practises that surprisingly enough made no reference to the devil or any thing remotely associated with hell. The craft of spells and magic were not always dark and some of the incantations were scribed when the first Christians were a handful of fisherman.

Tapping lightly on the front door, Josiah adjusted his collar and straightened his hat, suddenly revisited by all of Nathan’s warnings that Audrey was a real lady and should be afforded every courtesy. As he felt the anxiety catch up to him, Josiah swore a silent curse at Nathan and hoped the man was happy for the nervousness he had caused. Josiah had little time to indulge in his insecurities when the door swung open and Audrey appeared before him.

"Josiah, please come in."

"Good evening Audrey." He tipped his hat and then removed it before following her inside the house.

He had followed her a few steps up the hallway, when she noticed the flowers in his hand and he found himself presenting them to her.

"They’re lovely Josiah," she smiled radiantly and then took a deep breath of them. "What a nice thought."

Josiah cleared his throat and felt a little guilty considering how he had rebuked Nathan about all his instructions prior to arriving here. "It’s the least I can do in exchange for some good home cooking, Audrey."

"Well taste is first," she said with good humour as she led Josiah into the living room where Lilith was sitting rather uncomfortably in what appeared to be her Sunday dress, trying not to fidget while she sat perched on a chair.

"Josiah!" The young girl beamed at him.

"Why don’t you look nice Miss Lily." Josiah offered her a warm smile and noticed Lilith’s cheeks turning a shade pink whenever he called her that.

"Lily," Audrey turned to her. "You think you can keep Mr Sanchez company while I got fetch him some lemonade to drink before supper?"

"Sure mama." Lilith answered dutifully and faced Josiah again, undoubtedly pleased by his presence her mother withdrew to the kitchen and Josiah found himself a place to sit on the sofa.

"Its about time Josiah," Lilith hissed once her mother was gone.

"Time for what?" Josiah looked at her blankly.

"Do you know how long I’ve been working on her to ask you for supper?" The little girl said with a loud exhale to emphasise the effort expended by herself.

"You shouldn’t be doing that." Josiah chuckled. "But thank you anyway."

"Of course I should," Lilith sighed wondering if these grown up had any sense whatsoever. "I have to wait for mama to work up to it herself, she’d never ask you. Besides, I know she likes you."

"We’ll see." Josiah replied and hoped the young woman was right. If not, it was going to be a  _long_  night. 

 


	4. Recillos Women

 

"I’ve looked everywhere Ezra," JD Dunne reported to the gambler that morning, following his search of town for the whereabouts of Julia Pemberton. He had soon come to the conclusion that the lady was nowhere to be found. "If she’s in town, she’s hiding."

Ezra had returned from Julia’s house himself, having used his key to gain entry into her home and finding the letter she had left for him. Reading its contents, she had promised that she would return in a number of weeks but somehow he had his doubts about that if she became too threatened by Walter Clemens’ presence in town. While he believed that she would not desert him, Ezra did not want Julia to throw away her life in Four Corners, particularly after all the effort she had went to making a place for herself in this community.

"She is not in town." He said pulling up a chair at his table and reaching into his pocket to read the letter she had left with him once again. Accompanying the note with its elegant script promising that she loved him and always would no matter where life took her, was the deed to the Standish Tavern in his name. She had left it as a parting gift, as if the ownership of a saloon could possibly lessen the blow of losing her. "If I know Miss Pemberton at all, she has made good her escape."

"Gosh, I’m sorry Ezra." JD sat down next to the gambler, seeing the expression of unhappiness on his face and wishing he could offer the man some comfort. If Casey had just up and run off on him like this he would be similarly devastated even though Ezra seemed better at hiding his emotions than he if such a thing ever happened. "Do you think she’s gone for good?"

"Not if her letter to me is any indication," the gambler sighed, gesturing to the folded piece of correspondence on the space before him. "It appears she is going to ground until Mr Clemens chooses to leave Four Corners."

"Will that work?" JD looked at him uncertainly, thinking that it was rather a simplistic solution for a complex problem. Although Ezra did not voice it, he tended to agree with JD’s unspoken assessment of the situation.

"I seriously doubt it." Ezra admitted reluctantly. "Mr Clemens is tenacious to say the least." If he had tracked her across the Territory by visiting every little backwater town in existence here then it is likely that he would not be put off by such tactics. In either case, Julia would be discovered one way or another and Ezra was not about to let that happen. The fear he had seen in her eyes at the possibility of being found out was real and he knew no matter what deceptions she had used upon him, he loved her too much to allow those fears to become a reality. Somehow, he had to find her before she disappeared into the woodwork and Ezra was not ready to wait helplessly until she decided to let him know her whereabouts.

"What are you going to do Ezra?" JD asked, not believing for an instance that Ezra was willing to let this go the way things stood.

"I am going to find our wayward Miss Pemberton," Ezra said decisively and then drained the contents of his glass. "And bring her back here, kicking and screaming if need be."

"You don’t even know when she went." JD countered.

"That’s true but ignorance had never stopped me from acting before and I know her habits well enough to have some idea as to where she might have gone. If you give my compliments to Mr Larabee the next time you see him, please let him know that I had some personal business to attend." Ezra said deciding that now was as good a time as any to begin his search before Julia gained too much ground on him. There were a few ways she could have left town and he was going to have to investigate all those possibilities if he intended on catching up to her.

"You’re going now?" JD looked at him surprised as the gambler rose from the table and drew away having every intention of making good on his statement.

"It is as good a time as any, Mr Dunne." Ezra retorted tipping his hat slight at the young man before turning towards the batwing doors when suddenly two women made their entrance into the saloon. It was early morning in the saloon so patronage was hardly at peak capacity and their presence was largely ignored by the few customers who were there. Ezra studied both women carefully and deduced immediately that they were strangers in town, obviously from the south of the border since both were Hispanic in origin. Mother and daughter, he ventured a guess by the similarity in their features. The mother seemed a stoutish woman who might have been handsome in her day while her daughter with the sculpted cheekbones and exotically dusky skin was extremely attractive. However, it was not that which captured Ezra’s attention so much and for the few seconds that he studied them, he wrestled with trying to determine what that was.

After a moment, he realised it was because that there was something familiar about them that Ezra could not place and found himself forgetting Julia for the present. Since the saloon was now his, he thought sarcastically, he had a right to greet his customers and conceded that it was the best excuse he could think of at this moment to force an introduction. Crossing the floor, he met them after they had stepped through the doors and the matron had paused to scan the length of the room with her sharp eyes.

"Ladies," he tipped his hat to both of them as he arrived and offered his most charming smile. The older woman did not seem impressed but her daughter blushed and flashed him a radiant smile that all the more confirmed Ezra’s suspicion that he knew her from somewhere, even though for the life of him he could not remember. She was not more than twenty he estimated, who was already quite the beauty and wondered with typical male curiosity what she would look like when she blossomed into adulthood. "Welcome to the Standish Tavern, I am the owner Ezra Standish," He bristled with annoyance when he realised how good it felt to say that. "May I be of assistance?"

"I am looking for my daughter." The older woman said, flashing the daughter at her side a dark look for responding to this stranger with his handsome features and charming smile. The stare was enough to drive the girl back into submission and she dropped her gaze from Ezra’s and shifted it elsewhere.

"Your daughter?" Ezra stared at the woman in confusion, wondering why she would believe her daughter, obviously not the one at her side would be here unless….

"Inez." The woman stated firmly, confirming Ezra’s dawning realisation.

"You are Mrs Recillos?" Ezra said breaking into a genuine smile. "Why it is a pleasure to meet you Madam. I have heard a great deal about you. May I call you Paloma?"

She started to thaw slightly as she realised that he did indeed know Inez and in her daughter’s letters home, she had referred to the men who had defended her against Stefano and assumed this must be one of them. "Si Senor and you are?"

"I am Ezra Standish, as I said I own this establishment." The gambler answered and then added with a smile that bordered on smug satisfaction. "And now that I think about it, your daughter’s employer."

Okay, so perhaps he was not that angry with Julia for buying this place for him from his mother.

"And you must be Calla." Ezra turned to girl who had now fastened her attention on JD and was offering him that same smile of radiance.

"Si." She nodded. "I am Calla."

"We have come a long way to find Inez Senor Standish," Paloma interrupted, not liking any man to pay too close attention to her daughters, either of them. "Is she here?"

"Yes, she is resting." Ezra answered. "She does not work that much in the saloon these days with the blessed event almost upon her. As a matter of fact, I shall be most curious to see how she manages this establishment once the baby does arrive. "

Paloma Recillos looked at him sharply. "Baby?"

Ezra froze as he saw the blank look in her eyes. She had no idea what he was taking about. Oh hell. He swore under his breath realising what he had just done. "Maybe I ought to refrain from saying more. It does appear to be a family matter."

"You have said enough Senor Standish," Paloma retorted, her full ire bristling into effect while Calla merely looked shocked. "My daughter did not tell me she was married. Why is she married and still working in a place like this?"

_Oh hell._

For the first time in his life, Ezra had no idea what to say. With the exception of Casey Well’s invitation to the livery stable to sow some wild oats (what had happened there?), he had never found himself so tongue tied and unprepared to respond. All he could manage was a rather stuttered response of; "I really think you need to speak to her yourself."

Drawn by the commotion and dying to find out who that beautiful girl Ezra was talking to, JD left his table and came up to the trio and noticed Ezra stammering which was a shock in itself. Ezra was the most articulate person he knew. The man could cheat you out of every cent you owned and still speak perfectly enough to make you believe that he was doing you a favour. As he reached them, he saw the girl’s eyes widened as he approached and JD found himself responding to her attention by offering her a small smile.

"What’s going on?" JD asked.

"Mr Dunne, meet Paloma and Calla Recillos, Inez’s mother and sister." Ezra replied, relieved for the distraction provided by the young man and prayed that it was nearly enough to shift the conversation away from this explosive topic. It had never occurred to him that Inez would not tell her mother about her pregnancy although in retrospect, he supposed she would not. After all, Inez was as he mentioned on numerous occasions, the product of a traditional Catholic upbringing. For her to not only be pregnant and unmarried must have been the height of shame not only for herself and her faith but to her the family she had left behind. Ezra had a terrible feeling, the reunion was going to be anything but pleasant when the family finally encountered each other.

"Well its nice to meet you ma’am." JD said immediately removing his hat. "Inez will be plenty pleased to see you, what with the baby coming and all."

Ezra rolled his eyes in resignation and watched in dismay as the hope of avoiding the subject burst into flames as the fire in Paloma’s eyes was reignited.

"My daughter has married and did not even tell me?" Paloma hissed and then lapsed into a series of colourful Mexican expletives that was familiar to all of those who knew Inez with any depth of familiarity. Judging by the woman’s temper, it was obvious that the apple did not fall too far from the tree.

JD, horrified by the thought of upsetting the lady, tried to make amends. "Oh no ma’am, Inez would never do anything like that. She ain’t married!"

"JD!" Ezra almost shouted as the words escaped the boys lips and groaned after it did because the expression on Paloma’s face had no description. All colour drained from the woman features as she stared wide eyed at the news that her eldest daughter was pregnant and unmarried.

"Where…is…she?" Paloma asked. Her voice barely a whisper.

"Second door after the stairs." Ezra said reluctantly and gestured to the flight of stairs at the corner of the saloon.

The woman said nothing further and stormed away, grabbing Calla by the hand as she marched towards the stairs.

JD saw what had happened and knew immediately that something really bad was about to take place. Without looking at the gambler, the young man asked very calmly, "Ezra, what did I just do?"

Ezra took a deep breath and decided he was not going to make JD feel any more worse than he would after Paloma had found Inez and the inevitable confrontation between mother and daughter took place. "Nothing that would not have transpired anyway, Mr Dunne." Ezra said kindly. "However, if you are feeling remorseful for spilling the beans so to speak, I suggest you go find Mrs Larabee. I have this premonition that when this is all over, Inez will require a friend."

JD nodded, not exactly certain what Ezra meant by that but knew enough about the gambler to trust his instincts. "I’ll do that." He replied and started towards the doors to the saloon when Ezra had another thought and called after him.

"Mr Dunne," Ezra stopped him in his tracks. "Perhaps you better find Buck as well."

* * *

Inez was starting to feel better.

Perhaps everything had not gone according to plan and she now found herself engaged to be married even though she was uncertain whether or not it was right thing to do but she did have a home to go to and that was certainly a step in the right direction. Yesterday afternoon, Mary had driven her to the Travis place and they had spent an hour or two looking over the property, in particular the house. As far as Inez was concerned, it was as near perfect to anything she had envisioned for herself and her child. Deciding that she would indeed take Mary up on her proposal, she had spent the morning signing lease agreements and paying money to take possession of the place. Following that, she had been on something of a shopping spree and was now surrounded in nursery furniture and all the other things she had cumulated over the past nine months for the baby. Buck had promised to come by later today and help her move all her belongings into her new home.

Amazingly enough, even the idea of marrying Buck did not seem so bad now even if she still had her reservations. He had not spoken anything further about the wedding and she guessed that he would not until she brought the subject up. Inez felt somewhat guilty at how she had accepted his proposal, knowing that it had hurt him a little that she had been so begrudging about it. She did love him and she did not wish him to think that she was marrying him simply for the baby but at the moment, Inez was not sure of that herself and did not want to lie to him by telling him otherwise.

At least not until she was certain of how she felt.

It was not as if he had not been bending over backward to prove that he could change. In fact, Inez could not deny that she was impressed by how far he had come since learning about the baby. She heard no more that he was still the philandering rogue he used to be and did not leave a trail of broken hearts behind him like some men left dead bodies. The fact that he had entered this horse ranching venture with Chris and Vin proved that he was trying to provide for her and the baby. Despite all the doubts that kept her from giving her heart fully to him, Inez could not deny that her love for him had grown which was why she was so afraid of him.

From the onset of their relationship, Inez knew just how much she could love Buck. She did not want to be like her own mother who spent most of her life pining for the father they had lost too early. Her mother had never remarried because no suitor could stand up to the memory of the husband gone. Inez was terrified of loving any one person that much and then losing them and Buck, who acted as one of the lawmen in this town was as great a risk to life and limb as the rest of the seven. Inez did not know how she would cope losing him and so she had kept him at arm’s length, particularly since she had learnt about the baby. While she did not want to rob him of the experience of the child they had conceived, she was not prepared to let him become a part of her life yet, jus the baby’s.

Inez was in the midst of packing when the door swung open behind her abruptly and Inez thought she was getting another visit from one of the drunks who occasionally stumbled in here by mistake and were ejected most forcefully. However as she turned around and saw who was standing in the doorway, Inez suddenly wished it was some inebriated lout. The alternative, any alternative, had to be better than this.

"Mama?" Inez exclaimed, feeling as if all the air had left the room because she had trouble just getting the words out of her mouth.

"Look at you!" Her mother blazed foregoing any greetings or salutations and launching straight into the matter at hand.

Her condition was impossible to hide at this stage of pregnancy and Inez knew denying it would be ridiculous so she did not bother. "Mama, I can explain…." She stammered, rising from her bed, her hand sliding to her swollen protectively as if she felt it necessary to shield the baby from the unpleasantness about to take place.

"Explain?" Paloma strode to her and struck her hard across the back of the head like she had done when Inez was a misbehaving child. "I am told you are unmarried!" The woman roared in fury. "I raised you better than to bring shame upon us like this!"

"I have not brought shame upon anyone!" Inez cried impotently, slinking out from under her mother’s reach and put a suitable gap between them. "I am having a baby! Your grandchild!"

"You are having a bastard child with no husband!" Paloma shouted, cruel in her rage.

"How could you!" Inez said horrified, unable to believe that such words could have come from her mother. "I expected this from strangers who could not care less but you? You are my mother!" She said fighting the tears and frustration. Was there no end to the recriminations? Of all the insults she had been subjected to over the months, this was undeniably the worst. "I could not help this any more than I could stop it and I refuse to let you or anyone tell me that this child is a disgrace! It is only a disgrace to small minded fools! I had not believed I would have to count you the same, mama!"

"You were always a headstrong child!" Her mother declared fiercely, not prepared to let her daughter explain anything with anything. In her view there were no words that could justify the unfortunate state her daughter now found herself. "You were headstrong when you had the village’s best suitors ask for you hand! No, you would not accept them, you were too good to be a farmer’s wife. Look at you now!"

"I am perfectly happy with my life." Inez retaliated, feeling her initial shock and pain fading away to be replaced by the purer emotion of anger. Her baby was not a mistake! She may have been angry by some of the consequences of its presence into her life but she was never sorry had chosen to have it and no one was going to make her feel ashamed of that! She was not going let anyone make her resent her baby, not even by her mother. "I have a job in this saloon and I have a home to go to and since you have not bothered to ask, the father and I will soon be married."

"What kind of man would wait so long to marry you?" Paloma demanded, with every indication that the news Inez had just delivered had done little to appease her anger. The sin had been committed in the eyes of God and in her opinion. There was no correcting it after the fact.

"A good man." Inez declared firmly, not about to hear any disparaging remarks about Buck on top of everything else. "One that I love and who loves me!"

"You have brought shame upon me Inez," Paloma said finally, turning on her heels to leave. She had decided that there was no reasoning with her daughter who had plunged herself headlong into sin with her illegitimate offspring. "I raised you as good Christian girl, not to bandy about her favours like the village tramp! Is it not bad enough that the whole village blames us for what is becoming of Alejandro after his son’s death? Do you know what hardship we had to endure where you ran away from home and left us there to face his anger? He made our lives very hard but I knew I had a raised a daughter who would have fought to preserve her virtue. Now I find that you have been giving it freely in this place! Like a paid whore."

"I am not a WHORE!" Inez shouted, something inside her finally snapping. She had been branded with that unfair appellation so many times that she could tolerate it no more. "I made to love Buck because I wanted to, not because some filthy pig expected it of me when he dragged me out of my house one night, willing to force me in front of our entire village!" She was incensed that her mother would even question her virtue regarding her experience with Don Paulo.

"What you have done now is against the laws of God and how I have raised you," her mother interjected, the plea falling on deaf ears. It was what Inez more or less expected from Paloma who was just as stubborn and headstrong as she about her own point of view. "I came here because Don Alejandro has our house burnt I’m certain and has driven us from the village in revenge for his son’s death. I assume he will be coming for you sooner or later. I could have taken refuge with my sister at Ciudad Juarez but instead I came here to warn you." Paloma’s eyes moved over Inez’s body, resting at her belly and then added with glacial indifference. "I need not have bothered. You are as good as dead to me now."

Those words had more effect upon Inez than anything else the woman had said since her tumultuous arrival. Hearing her mother disown her like that was a blow that left Inez reeling and she stared at her mother in a mixture of astonishment and heartbreak.

Paloma in turn did not wait to see what her statement had meant to her daughter and promptly turned on her heels to leave the room. She stormed out the, not seeing that she had departed with Inez trembling in her wake. Only when she had passed through the door, did Inez find her voice to speak. "Mama, please!" She cried out, unable to handle everything and this too on top of everything else.

There was no answer.

Inez took a deep breath to regain her composure in the chaos following the brutal scene between herself and Paloma before going after her mother. She had no sooner crossed the threshold of her doorway and looked beyond the banister to the floor below, dreading to think how many people had heard the exchange between them. To her mild surprise, she only saw Ezra, JD and Mary. Mary was staring up at her, sympathy and heartfelt concern etched in her face as she conveyed in her eyes to let her help. Unfortunately as much as Inez would have liked to take Mary up on that offer, Inez was the only one who could possibly resolve this situation between herself and her mother.

"Inez, I’m sure she doesn’t mean it." A familiar voice called out.

Inez looked down the walkway that Paloma was presently walking, dragging her younger sister Calla behind her. Calla’s expression showed the same feelings as Mary but she was just as helpless to her mother’s wishes as Inez herself.

"Mama’s just angry." Calla tried to reassure her sister as she followed her mother, hoping Inez understood that mama’s opinions were not her own.

"I will speak my own mind Calla!" Paloma snapped at her to be silent.

However, the matter was far from over as far as Inez was concerned and she continued following her mother, calling out after her. "Mama, why did he burn the house now? Why after so long?" It made no sense why he would come after her at this point. Stefano Paulo had been dead for more than a year. She had expected vengeance to come soon after his death, not now! Especially now!

"Who can say?" Paloma whirled around and faced her pregnant daughter almost wild with anger. "He claims now that you lured Stefano that night, that it was all your fault that Stefano became so obsessed with you! He believes that you tricked Stefano to this town," she looked about the room with clear disapproval. "So that you could have your lover murder him!"

Inez could not believe it. How on earth could anyone come to that conclusion when the entire village of Val Verde had been witness to what Stefano had been attempting to do that night, not to mention how he had behaved all his life with the girls in the village. He had brutalised so many and the only reason that retribution had not been demanded was because the Don had appeased their families with compensation in some shape or form. "That’s insane!"

"Do you not understand you foolish girl?" Paloma declared, making her descent down the stairs. No one was brave enough to be in her way as she hurried down, pulling her younger daughter along helplessly. "He is insane !"

"Mama, please!" Inez implored, trying to think of something to make her understand as she blew out of the saloon like an ill wind, leaving all kinds of destruction in her wake. When she had gone, Inez did not know whether or not it was a good thing. There was a well of pain flowing inside of her that was slicing up her insides with the efficiency of a well aimed knife. Of all the humiliation she had endured this past months, this had been the one she dreaded most. It was part of the reason why she had neglected to reveal her condition to her mother in her letters home. However in all honesty, even Inez had not envisioned that Paloma’s reaction would be this incendiary.

As she regained her senses, she remembered that the saloon was empty, with table and stools vacant. Grateful that there were no prying eyes bearing witness to what had just transpired, Inez found herself sank to the steps of the stairs and sat down. Her mind was still reeling from what had taken place and much of her thoughts were still a jumble of emotions, slowly gaining recognition of present events as opposed to the whirlwind of angry words in her head.

"Where is everybody?" She asked no one in particular after awhile.

Her word prompted the others into movement who had been uncertain whether or not to approach her. Mary was the first one to reach Inez even though it was Ezra who answered her.

"I closed the place." Ezra answered gently, "I thought it might be wise."

"Thank you." Inez replied with genuine appreciation, although normally she would have taken issue at his audacity in closing the place so when he had no authority over the saloon.

"Inez, are you all right?" Mary asked tenderly as she sat next to Inez on the steps and slipped her arm over her friend’s shoulder and gave her a well needed hug.

The expression on her best friend’s face was one of utter sympathy and Inez felt heartened knowing that Mary was there because she really needed someone support right now. The sorrow she felt at her mother’s reaction was like near unbearable, though she was fighting admirably to keep it at bay. However, that soon dissipated as she felt a growing physical discomfort. At first she had attributed it to the quick exit from her room and down the stairs in pursuit of Paloma having tired her out. However, the pain was intensifying and she could feel a stabbing of pain in her lower back, protesting from the exertion of energy and musculature in her fragile state.

"I’m sorry Inez," JD added his voice to the feel of Mary’s arms around her shoulders as the editor of the Clarion news sat next to her. The youth was feeling even worse than ever for inadvertently blurting to Inez’s mother about her condition and her state of marriage prior to her unceremonious entry into Inez’s room. After seeing how the woman had taken the news and how she treated Inez after, JD felt terribly guilty that he was responsible for it. A part of him could not associate anyone’s mother being so harsh with their own child. His own mother had been kind and understanding, even when he did something stupid. Hell, even Maude did not treat Ezra the way; Inez’s mother had just torn strips of her. JD could not believe how unreasonable the woman had been. "I didn’t mean to tell her that you weren’t married. I didn’t know you hadn’t told her."

"It’s all right JD." The bartender shook her head feeling no malice towards him at that news because in all truth there was and had only ever been one person who was responsible for this situation and that was herself. "I knew she was going to be like this. Maybe that’s why I did not tell her. I was hoping to wait…." Her voice drifted away as she followed that thought to its conclusion and then raised her soulful eyes to meet their gazes. "I don’t know what I was thinking."

"You have nothing to be sorry for Inez." Ezra who was kneeling before her, he placed a hand on her cheek. "You are not to blame for your mother’s failings. Trust me, I know. Your choices are your own and if she cannot support you in the decision that you have chosen to make then it is her lost and our gain."

"Thank you Ezra," Inez whispered, her lips quivering as she fought not to be overcome with emotion. She wanted badly to cry, could feel hot tears pressing against the wall of her eyes, trying to flood her cheeks with a flow of sorrow. "It means much to me to hear you say that." Her hand touched his and for a moment, she used her grip on him to steady herself.

"Come on," Mary urged her to stand up. "We’ll go to my house, you can stay with me tonight. I don’t want you left alone."

Inez was about to protest when she started to notice the pains in her lower back becoming increasingly sharper. It seemed to poke and prod, worsening with the seconds that passed until finally, it was to a point she could not longer ignore and it began to register in her face. Involuntarily she winced and everyone noticed the action almost immediately. She felt her skin start to perspire as the pain became more intense and drove all worries about her mother away from her mind for the present.

"Mary.." Inez looked up at the blond woman with apprehension. "It hurts."

"What?" Mary said immediately, sharpening her thoughts into focus faster than anything else that had happened so far with that one statement. By equally sharp contrast, JD and Ezra immediately descended into predictable panic as most men faced with such a situation were apt to doing.

"She says it hurts!" JD cried out, sounding even younger than he looked, if such was a thing was possible.

"Mary." Inez started to get frightened because she knew what was supposed to happen when she went into labour and did this not feel like it. "I think it is the baby." She managed to say before uttering a soft gasp as the pain surfaced sharply for an instant and caught her by surprise.

"JD, get Alexandra!" Ezra ordered as he and Mary started helping Inez to her feet immediately. The young sheriff nodded wildly and practically bolted out the door. As they helped her to stand, Inez uttered a small cry of pain, contracting her body into a question mark as it moved through her. The action sent a wave of panic through the gambler as he struggled to maintain his grip upon her when she had buckled so suddenly. He had not idea how Mary was able to maintain her poise. While he was quickly becoming a bundle of nerves which each strained utterance made by Inez, Mary was keeping a poker face that left his jaw agape with astonishment had he not been so panic already.

"Is it the baby?" Ezra asked, wishing someone would tell him something. He was completely out of his depth here. "Is it the baby coming? Is she going into labour? What on earth do we do?" He had no idea that he was rambling.

Mary dispelled the notion soon enough. "Ezra will you get a hold of yourself!" She snapped because they did not have the time to deal with his hysterics while Inez was in this way. "Let’s just get her up to her room." Mary did not believe this to be contractions because Inez’s water had not broken. However, with all the stress that she had endured today, premature labour was not entirely impossible. "Inez, we’re taking you to your room, do you think you can make it?" Mary asked her, since Ezra was able to do nothing but obey her instructions mutely.

"Yes." She groaned painfully, feeling a fist of pain tightening inside her lower spine, threatening to break her in half as it intensified with each agonising. "Get Alex please!" She groaned again.

"Already done," Mary answered with the same voice she tended Billy’s cuts and bruises when he was hurt. Incidentally it was also the same voice she used whenever Chris needed to be kept in bed after he was wounded. The uses for it seemed never ending. For the moment, it appeared, Inez was in need of the same calm that no doubt infuriated her son and husband during those times. "You need to calm down. Remember what Alex taught you about breathing?" Mary reminded her firmly but gently in order to slice through the panic that would only worsen the situation if Inez did not get it under control. "We’ll do it together."

Inez nodded anxiously and watched Mary who started first. After a moment, she started undertaking the breathing exercises herself as she was lead to the top of the stairs and then down the corridor which emptied into her room. Ezra watched with a mixture of fear and fascination at what Mary was doing, admiring the lady’s presence of mind and supposed that this was one arena where she was wholly an expert, having had a child once before. He also observed that the breathing exercises that Alex had prescribed seemed to have the effect of calming the patient more than anything else and wondered if that were not true object of the game.

They reached Inez’s room soon after and Ezra helped Mary lead Inez to her bed, where upon lying down, the woman pulled her knees under her swollen stomach in an effort to control the pains shooting through her body. He noticed that the room was in a state of chaos with every indication that Inez had been planning to vacate the premises permanently. Most of her belongings were tucked neatly in boxes, while that old, worn carpet bag she had carried when she had first breezed into town and his life with was sitting on a chair, crammed full of clothes and other personal items. Seeing it made Ezra he could did not want any harm to come to Inez, just as he knew for certain he could not imagine Julia not in his life.

"Ezra," Mary turned to the gambler now that Inez was lying on the bed. "I can take it from here." She said kindly, seeing his concern but also understanding that he was uncomfortable about being here, like any man would be when confronted with such a situation. He was remaining because he had to and Mary decided it was time to relieve of that duty since she needed him for a far more important task. "Ezra, we need to find Buck."

"I sent Mr Dunne to find him at the same time as yourself, I do not believe that he is in town." Ezra answered. "However, it would probably serve if I make some deeper inquiries." He suggested.

"Don’t bother," Mary said quickly, having a better idea than most where Buck would be today. "I’m pretty sure his with Vin and Chris at the ranch. Ezra, he needs to know what’s happening."

Ezra met her gaze and showed his agreement with a slight nod. As he retreated out of the room, hearing, Inez’s strained cried behind him, he hoped that Buck’s efforts to be a good husband and father would not be for nothing.

* * *

Alexandra Styles walked out of Inez’s room less than an hour later and descended down the steps to the floor of the Standish Tavern. Her appearance was met with a flurry of questions; loudest of which came from Buck Wilmington who had arrived in town not long after experience the longest ride he had ever had to endure in his entire life. Following Ezra’s news that Inez was ailing, the lawman had climbed in his saddle and ridden back to town at full gallop, having never pushed his mount so hard in his life. He hardly considered the danger of that action, knowing only that he had to get back here as fast as he could. After what he had been told about the possibility Don Paulo’s father coming after him and Inez, Buck could not imagine how things could be worse.

Until now.

Alex ignored all their questions and had one of her own to ask. "Okay," she said taking a deep breath and staring them all down, in particular Mary, Ezra and JD who were here when Inez first showed symptoms of her present condition. "Someone want to tell me what the hell happened here today?"

Mary swallowed; certain that Alex’s question was motivated by more than just curiosity but from a medical need as well. "Inez’s mother and sister came to town." Mary answered, not just for Alex but for the benefit of anyone else who was not appraised of what had taken place in the saloon today. "She was not happy to find out about the baby or the fact that Inez was not married."

"Aw hell…" Buck started to swear, having a fair idea of what happened after that. In fact, they all did.

"They had a terrible fight," Mary continued revealing events that were a surprise to no one after her initial statement. "Her mother was really brutal and more or less disowned Inez."

"Well that explains that." Alex nodded and let out a sigh, wondering how people could be so stupid and telling herself that she would not mind going to see Mrs Recillos if just to deliver a swift kick in the woman’s sanctimonious behind. "For starters, she’s fine Buck." Alex looked at the man to reassure him of that first and foremost. He accepted the news gratefully for he let out a grateful sigh. "She went into false labour." Alex explained. "It can be brought on by extreme stress."

"Well today would have certainly qualified as such." Ezra muttered under his breath.

"Now," Alex continued, not finished and giving the gambler a look to quiet until she was. "She’s asleep now, I’ve given her something to relax. However, she cannot handle this kind of pressure. I understand she was walking around town in this heat yesterday?" She looked at them.

"She was looking for a place to stay." Buck admitted reluctantly, suddenly feeling extremely bad because Inez was doing a lot of things for herself she should not be. She had allowed him to be part of the baby’s life; perhaps he had better start paying more attention to Inez, even if she was being stubborn and independent. Just because Inez would never ask for help but that did not mean Buck should try and provide it.

"Well that stops immediately." Alex said in no uncertain terms with a tone of voice that broke no argument. Even Chris knew better than to argue with her when she was like this. "Let me explain something to you. A woman pregnant has more four times more blood volume in her body than normal and veins that stay the same size. When she feels distressed like she was today, the flexibility of those veins are hindered and something is likely to rupture, do you understand? If she is subjected to any more pressure than she is already, both she and the baby will be in serious danger. I kid you not. Has she actually found some place to live?" Alex asked no one in particular but expected an answer nevertheless.

"Yes," Mary responded, feeling suddenly that they were all children in a classroom being reprimanded by an angry schoolmistress for not paying attention. "Chris, I rented the farm to Inez. I was going to talk to you about it." She glanced at Chris with whom she was sitting next to.

Chris shrugged, having no particular problem with that and even considered it a rather amicable solution to Inez’s predicament. "It’s a good idea." He flashed her a small smile and she rested her head against his shoulder in a gesture of gratitude for his understanding.

"Great," Alex said hands on her hips as she faced Buck. "Move her in there and get her out of town. She’s been putting up with enough judgemental asses to last a lifetime. She’ll stay in bed today to rest but try to get her out of here tomorrow. I would suggest that we keep dear old mom away from her until the lady calms down."

"I ought to go over there right now and tell that old bat….."Buck grumbled, seething with rage that Inez’s mother whom he had never met, could be so unkind about her daughter’s situation. In fact, he was starting to question why he was risking his neck to protect a town that could treat the woman he loved so badly.

"You’ll just calm down and do nothing of the sort." The doctor said abruptly and cut him off before he could go any further on that line of reasoning. "What you _will_ do is move her things out of that room," she looked upstairs indicating Inez’s present place of residence. "And get it to the homestead so Mary and I can deal with it later today. I’ve had to let Nathan take some of my house calls so I’m free for the afternoon. Mary?"

"I’m good for this afternoon." Mary agreed, aware of what Alex was intending. "Chris, you can keep an eye on Billy?"

"Yeah, no problem." Chris shrugged and shared a look of discomfort with both Vin and Buck. Mary and Alex caught the exchange almost immediately and knew their men well enough to know that something was.

"Okay, what is it?" Alex stared at Vin because she knew he would crack first. The tracker however, said nothing, waiting for Chris to do the honours and hoped he would do it quickly, because he knew Alex’s patience was about as inflammatory as Inez’s mother at this point. There was nothing more the love of his life abhorred than having her patients put through unnecessary discomfort because of the foolishness of the people around her.

Ezra answered for all of them, since he had a fair idea of what was troubling them so. Aside from this issue of Paloma Recillos rather scathing view of her daughter’s pregnancy, the lady had brought further news with her arrival and it was one that could not be ignored. "Apparently, Inez may be in danger from an old enemy."

Alex rolled her eyes and shook her head, somehow unsurprised by the news. "Somehow, I knew it could not be that simple. So I gather she needs protection?"

"I had a visit from Raphael yesterday," Chris pointed out. "He said something like this might happen."

"Chris you didn’t say anything to me." Mary looked at him with a hint of annoyance, wondering why he would leave out information like that.

"Raphael said it was rumour." Chris returned her gaze. "We were going to keep an eye on her but like you said, she had enough things to worry about without troubling her with something as vague as hearsay."

Mary could appreciate that and offered him a slight smile, showing him that her annoyance had passed and things were right with them again.

"I’ll stay out there with her." Buck volunteered immediately. "She’s going to be my wife. So she’s my responsibility."

"I'll ride shotgun with you Buck," JD immediately added, deciding that he could offer his support to both of them and alleviate some of his guilt over his disclosure to Paloma earlier. Even if Inez had absolved him of his guilt, JD felt that the news might have been better received if it had been broken to the lady a little better.

"Thanks kid," Buck patted the younger man’s shoulder as a gesture of gratitude. "I’d appreciate that."

"Well since Inez’ mom is here," Vin drawled, "I guess its safe to assume it ain’t just rumour no more. I think it might be an idea if I rode out to Purgatory and see if there’s anything to know. You’re up for a ride pard?" Vin looked in Chris’ direction.

"I think so." Chris tipped his hat in the tracker’s direction.

"I’m afraid I’m going to have to bow out of any participation in this endeavour gentlemen," Ezra spoke up before he was allotted some duty he would have to refuse. "I have some personal business to attend to."

"What personal business?" Chris asked, stiffening with annoyance. It was not uncommon for Ezra to try and slither out of what he considered menial labour but Chris was under the impression that Inez was a friend and the gambler would want to help.

"I’ll explain later," Vin said quickly. "He needs to go."

Chris looked at Ezra and could see that whatever bothered the man was indeed worrying him because it was written clearly on his face and that in itself was a testament to the seriousness of his claim. Ezra could hold a poker face better than anyone Chris knew, if he was worried enough for it to show then it must have been a good reason. Besides, Vin seemed to believe that Ezra had legitimate reasons for going and the tracker’s word was good enough for him.

"Sure," Chris nodded, understanding that it was important to Ezra, whatever the reason and that should have been enough for him. He was past the days when he worried whether or not Ezra would run out on him and the others. The gambler had put his life on the line too many times already for Chris to ever doubt his loyalty to them.

"Thank you." Ezra said flashing Vin a look of thanks for his support in convincing Chris that he had to go.

"Buck," Chris said to his old friend, moving along to the next point on their unspoken agenda. "Can you see to it that Josiah and Nathan keep an eye on Inez’s mother."

"Yeah," Buck said reluctantly, feeling extremely hostile towards the woman at this point and felt that she did not deserve the protection after the unforgivable way she had treated her daughter. "I suppose we ought to make sure the lady is safe."

Chris tried to stifle a smile because he could almost guess the thoughts running through Buck’s mind at this moment in regards to Mrs Recillos. Not that he could blame the man of course. If anyone had done that to Mary, Chris would have been similarly incensed. "Just put Josiah and Nathan on it and for your sake, just keep away from her."

"Hell I ain’t gonna be bothered by that old nag…."

"Who’s going to be your _mother in-law_." Ezra could not help pointing out with a smug smile.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, no one was immune to seeing the humour in that remark, except perhaps maybe Buck.

"You’re all heart Ezra," Buck grumbled good naturedly and then looked at Alex. "Can I see Inez?"

"Sure," the doctor nodded. "Just don’t get her excited okay?"

He looked at her with innocence no one believed and remarked, "Now would I do a thing like that?"

* * *

Inez was not asleep.

  
She could not even though Alex had advised that she ought to get some rest. No matter, how much she tried, her thoughts kept returning to that terrible confrontation with her mother even more than the possibility that Don Paulo might be coming after her. Suddenly in the face of her mother’s terrible disapproval, that seemed like the lesser of both evils. She caressed her swollen abdomen and felt her heart breaking each time she heard the words ‘bastard’ echo in her ear. Her child was not going to be a source of shame for anyone. She loved it unconditionally, no matter how it would come into this world.

She looked around the room at all the purchases she made today that included rattles, bassinette, toys and clothes. The furniture she had bought had already been sent on to the homestead and Inez comforted herself that soon she would be away from this room and would be glad for the anonymity that would be provided leaving out of town. At least, she would not have to put up with any more nasty jibes from the townsfolk or her family. The pain that had caused her friends and herself so much concern had subsided now and Alex had reassured her that it had been a result of the stress she was under. She could attest to that fact most profoundly. Ever since this had begun, she had been feeling the walls of her safe existence closing in around her and Inez was not sure how much more she could take.

A slight tap on the door snapped her out of her ruminations and she offered a dispassionate for whomever it was to come inside. She had not particular wish to see anyone but had neither the energy or disposition for a debate when she told them to go away. The door swung open and to her surprise, she saw that it was Buck. Furthermore, Inez was further astonished by the fact that she was pleased that he was here and could draw comfort from his presence.

"Hey Inez." He said tenderly. "How you doing, darling?"

She extended her hand forward and surprised him by that action but Buck did not argue and intertwined his fingers between hers.

"Better now," she said with a smile and honestly meant it as she felt his touch.

Buck was pleasantly surprised by her reaction and decided that he was not about to argue with it. "I heard about your mother."

"Yes," she let out a deep sigh. "My mother." Inez tried not to let Paloma’s words echo in her mind again but they seemed to resonate with just the thought of her.

Buck saw the hurt cross her face at the mention of the subject and somehow had a feeling that Mary’s description of Paloma’s reaction being brutal did not come near to describing it. The pain he saw in Inez’s eyes made him want to put his fist through the wall but Buck focussed because he loved this woman and for her, he was willing to do anything.

"Inez, our baby is wonderful thing." Buck said after a moment of deliberation. "It’s the finest thing that I have ever done in my life and I thank you every day for giving me to chance to be apart of it. I know it didn’t happen the way it should have but I ain’t sorry that it did. This last few months, I’ve come to find out what is really important to me and I know that I love you and I love our baby and no matter people may say, there is no shame in that."

"Thank you Buck," she whispered, grateful because those words were exactly what she needed to hear, especially from him. "I knew I should have told her before this but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it." Taking a deep breath, she found herself realising that as painful as it was for her to accept Paloma’s anger, Inez should not have expected her mother to behave any other way.

"Look," Buck stopped her from further recriminating herself. "She just needs time to cope with things. It ain’t easy to accept when you’re god-fearing folk like she is. Give her some time, she’ll come around and if she doesn’t that she’s missing out on one hell of a baby." Buck said with an encouraging smile.

He sincerely hoped that this would not be the case however. Buck had seen from experience what such division could do to a person or a family. When Sarah Connelly had defied her father’s wishes and married Chris, the old man broke off all contact from his daughter and stayed away, missing the next eight years of his life and never getting to know the grandson who passed too early from this life. His regret had driven him mad and Buck did not want to see Paloma Recillos suffer that same fate, although at this point in time, she would have richly deserved it.

"Buck," Inez spoke, bringing up the next source of concern. "Mama and Calla were driven from the village. She says that Don Paulo’s father now blames me for his son’s death that he may come after us."

"I know," Buck nodded. "Raphael rode up to the shack yesterday and told he had been hearing rumours. I didn’t bring it up with you because I wasn’t sure then whether or not it wasn’t just that, rumour. Vin’s riding into Purgatory with Chris tonight, to see if there is any news about Paulo coming across the border. In the meantime, we’re going to get you set up at your new place. JD and I will take some of your things across today and Alex and Mary will get it ready for you tomorrow."

"I should help…" Inez started to sit up in her bed but Buck would hear none of it.

"They got it under control and you need to rest." He said firmly. "Besides, Alex will have my hide if I let you leave this bed." He added with a smile.

Inez swallowed thickly, overwhelmed by all the friends she really had around her and realised she was never alone as she thought. "Thank them all for me." She replied, hiding how much all their aid really meant to her even though Buck could see it reflected in her eyes.

"I will." He nodded. "You’re not alone Inez." He leaned over and kissed her on her forehead. "You never were. I promise you, we’ll get through this."

As Inez offered him a warm smile, she almost believed it.

* * *

It had taken most of the night of riding from one place to another but eventually, Ezra managed to call in all his favours, actually marks who owed him and had never been quite up to paying their debts, to find out where Julia Pemberton had gone. He had ridden out of Four Corners, shortly after he was certain that the others had things under control with Inez and the Mexican required his assistance no more for a short time. He had spoken to the stage depot in Four Corners and discovered that Julia had not taken the stage out of town. He had not expected she would and gathered she must have ridden to wherever she intended on hiding out, or at least somewhere she could find alternate forms of transportation by person who would not recognise her.

Sure enough, he soon learnt her horse was not saddled at her home or the livery and was able to make a determination of where she would go on her own. Julia was not the best rider in the world and thus whatever her destination, the journey would not be too far or too difficult. Thus Ezra began riding immediately to Bitter Creek. The stage came to Bitter Creek once a day and if Julia intended progressing her journey from beyond that town, she would have to catch the stage that left Bitter Creek early the next morning to Sweet Water or some other location. Ezra rode half the night for him to reach Bitter Creek and following his arrival in the community, had to shift through the numerous lodging houses and hotels to find her.

Of course it was not hard to find Julia Pemberton, even if she was not using that name and while it was easy to use an alias, she was not exactly the most conspicuous female to be able to become lost in a crowd. Julia’s physical beauty was in fact a liability in this case because it made people notice her instead of allowing her to fade into the background. After searching through most of the local accommodations of Bitter Creek, which was no easy thing to do considering the hour, Ezra managed to find the listing for Maude Standish on one hotel registrar. Since he had sixth sense whenever his mother came anywhere within two hundred miles of him, Ezra guessed that it was most likely not Maude occupying the room the hotel attendant did direct him to after slipping the man a crisp five-dollar note for the information. Particularly after the man had said with a salacious leer what a ‘looker’ Maude had been.

Ezra merely agreed and took spare key to the room before heading up the stairs towards it. It was in the small hours of the night and no one was about as he reached the corridor and soon after the door to which the key opened. He opened it stealthily, hearing no sound as he turned the lock and entered the darkness of the room. A crack of light illuminated a nightstand and wash basin on a side table as he pulled the door apart and attempted to slip in. He had taken no more passed the threshold of the doorway when suddenly he heard the heavy click of a gun hammer cocking into place.

"Julia, it is me." Ezra said not at all afraid by the sound.

"Ezra?" Julia exclaimed and heard the shuffling of sheets and movement before the room was illuminated by the lamp that was at her bedside. As was her habit since he had first met her, Ezra discovered that Julia had not overcome her compulsion to wear nothing to bed. She stood shakily on the mattress of the bed on her knees, aiming a derringer at him.

"Will you please put that down before we both regret it." He instructed, closing the door behind him as he entered the room.

Julia let out a sigh of relief, thinking her intruder had been Mr Clemens, the Pinkerton detective, although now that she thought about it, she might not be any safer with Ezra having discovered her whereabouts. "Ezra, what are you doing here?" She demanded as she dropped the gun onto the sheets before her.

"Take a wild stab my dear." He retorted and picked up the weapon and checked the chamber only to discovered that it was not loaded. "These things work better with bullets." He pointed out as he tossed her the robe draped over the edge of the bed.

"Are you kidding?" Julia frowned, slipping on the garment. "I have to keep that thing by my side at night, I could shoot something off."

Ezra was not even about to debate the logic of that statement and decided that he was too tired and weary for it anyway. He had endured a long day and would really like to stop for a rest but he knew if that if he allowed her the opportunity, she would run again and this time it might not be as easy to find her again. "Get dressed, we are returning to Four Corners."

"No! Ezra!" Julia said firmly. "I thought I explained it to you in my letter. I’m not letting that man tell papa he’s found me."

"Julia, I am not going to let that happen." Ezra said sitting on the bed next to her and making Julia look at him. "I promise you, it will never come to that."

"You don’t know my father," she protested, making no move to get dress or show any signs that he was swaying her with his words. Although she wanted to go back to Four Corners, Julia knew she could not. Did he not realise that she missed the place terribly, that her one-day as a fugitive was so torturous she could not imagine maintaining a permanent existence like this? However, Julia did not fear being away from Four Corners as much as going back to the life she had known in Philadelphia, where there were no choices at all and every part of her life controlled by people who had no idea of what she wanted. She knew that if her father were to come to Four Corners, he would most likely destroy Ezra before he allowed her to be with the gambler. Donald Avery loved her that much that Julia was certain that he would do that. "You don’t know what he would do to get me back."

"I know that you are afraid and that is enough for me to understand that your secret will not be exposed." Ezra tried to convince her, hoping that in some way, he could shatter the boundary of those fears that were so ingrained within her being. "I will think of someway to convince Mr Clemens to forget about you but I cannot do that without your assistance and I certainly cannot do that from here. Julia we need to go back to Four Corners, with the people who could help us out of this situation."

Julia wanted to believe him. She wanted desperately to think that Ezra could deliver her from her fate but at the moment, her fear was almost something tangible that could be felt. There were secret things she told no one about her relationship with her father, things that she did not admit to herself. There were memories she offered people and a persona that she displayed so that everyone would believe one thing about her but the real truth was far more awful than anyone could possibly imagine. To speak those aloud would be to open up Pandora’s box and she did not know if she could stand what people would learn upon that exposure. She could not bear anyone to find out, not her friends and god forbid, not even Ezra.

Especially not Ezra.

"No," she shook her head. "I can’t." She met his gaze. "I’m sorry Ezra, I cannot go back with you."

"I understand," he nodded in understanding, drawing closer to her as he saw the terror in her eyes and realised for the first time that there was more to this than just discovery, something dark and sinister than he had not suspected before. "And I beg your forgiveness."

"Your forgiveness?" She looked at him, not comprehending.

"Yes," he nodded sombrely. "For doing this." Without saying a further word, he threw a balled fist into her face and knocked her out cold. Julia slumped to the bed without uttering a single word. Ezra winced as he saw the red felt on her alabaster skin and hoped she would forgive him when she woke up.

Sometimes, a gentleman just had to what a gentleman had to do.

 

 


	5. Encounters

 

Purgatory had not changed.

It was one of those places trapped in amber, frozen in time because the world had left it behind long ago. Vin Tanner had no doubts that ten years from now; he would ride into this town and find it to be just the same as it appeared today. Dusty and wind blown from sand storms that scoured past this way sometimes and filled with men who wanted only to be forgotten while they lost themselves in bottles of cheap rotgut or in the arms of the whore they had paid for. When he and Chris Larabee rode into town that night, little about the place had altered since their last visit. Both men were aware of everything as they headed towards the main watering hole where information was easiest to come by. This was not the place to let down one’s guard. That kind of ignorance could get you killed faster than it would take for trouble to find you. Vin had learnt of Purgatory during his bounty hunting days, when it was necessary to go underground for information when finding a particularly elusive target.

Inside the cantina, it could not really be called a saloon since it was merely a room with a counter top for serving drinks with a few chairs scattered around for the paying customers. At this time of evening, the establishment was full with working girls making the rounds, seeking potential clientele. While some offered smiles at Chris and Vin, a slight shaking of their heads indicated that they were not interested and the ladies were on their way, moving on to the next possibility. The two lawmen went to the counter and ordered drinks before Chris searched the room for one face in particular. She was usually here at this time of night, that is if she had not snared a customer already and was presently undertaking the transaction in some seedy room elsewhere.

"There she is." Chris said to Vin as the tracker tossed two bits at the bartender and picked up his beer as Chris made his way towards the lady in question.

  
Maria was in the process of soliciting when she saw Chris approach and immediately desisted in the action, choosing to meet the gunslinger half way. She flashed him a genuine smile as he approached and was glad to see that he was well. The last time she had seen him, his friends had knocked him silly and carried him home because he was needed there urgently. She had chance to be favored with his affections and could not deny that she missed him, unashamed to admit that he was one of the few customers with whom she actually enjoyed the experience of love making. However, as he approached, she spied the wedding ring on his finger and guessed immediately that his circumstances had changed since their last meeting. While she was disappointed, in a way she was also glad for him. The sorrow often displayed by him over the loss of his wife was so deep that she felt pity for his overwhelming grief and was pleased that he had picked up the reins of his life.

"Senor." She smiled. "It is good to see you."

"Its good to see you too." Chris answered and surprised himself with how genuine he had felt about that statement. Before Mary, this woman had nursed him through a lot of hard nights when the ache for Sarah had been so bad; he would have likely done something foolish if not for her. "This here is Vin Tanner." He introduced the quiet tracker to the sultry Mexican beauty.

"Ma’am." Vin tipped his hat politely. Chris obviously thought a lot of the lady and so Vin afforded her every respect.

  
They found themselves a table and Chris bought Maria a drink before they got down to business. Maria was a veteran of Purgatory and was smart enough to keep her eyes and ears open to source out obscure pieces of information that ultimately ended up being invaluable to him. "You hear anything about anyone from across the border hiring local talent and sending it up Four Corners way?" Chris asked.

Maria considered the question. "Not really Senor." She shook her head in answer but a slight crease had appeared in her dusky skin as the question bounced off her.

"Is not really mean absolutely no, or you ain’t sure?" Vin questioned for the purpose of clarification. He had caught the reaction in her face when it etched into a frown. To him at least, it appeared as if she was uncertain about something that might relate to what they were asking, even though she had yet to voice it and seemed somewhat unsure on its relevance.

"I do not know whether or not it is what you are talking about," Maria confessed taking a sip of her whiskey. "A few weeks ago, I had a man who came from your town. He was Mexican and I have not seen him before. His name was Luis and he was on his way across the border to a small town not far from Ciudad Juarez, if I remember right."

It did not seem related but Vin remembered that Inez’s home town was a small village not far from Ciudad Juarez and urged her to continue. "Go on."

"Well," Maria continued. "He paid for me for the whole night because he had a lot of money to spend. It seems that he had been living in Four Corners for awhile. A few months I think." She tried to recall exactly what he had said that night. "He said he was paid to stay there and keep an eye on someone I think."

Vin and Chris exchanged glances but said nothing, waiting instead for Maria to give up all the information she knew on the subject. "There is not much more Senors," she explained genuinely sorry she could not help them any further. "He was there to watch over someone and when I saw him, he was on his returning home to report his news to the Don of some small village."

"Thank you darlin." Vin gave her a slight wink as Chris pushed a crumpled note in her direction. A dollar for ten minutes work was considerably generous and she offered him a warm smile as she rose to her feet to leave. She still had business to conduct and she sensed that the two men before her had things to discuss.

"It was good to see you Chris," she said affectionately as she prepared to depart, lowering her lips to his in a gentle kiss of goodbye before she disappeared into the crowd.

Chris shrugged, feeling slightly embarrassed in front of Vin who was ignoring his discomfiture and more focussed on what Maria had told them about her ‘client’. "Looks like Don Paulo had Inez watched for quite some time." He commented once they were alone again.

"Yeah," Chris nodded in agreement but could not fathom the timing. "I still don’t get it though. If he had her watched for months, that means he’s been thinking about revenge for longer than that."

"And if he’s had someone good enough to watch her all this time, with none of us being the wiser then why didn’t he just kill her and be done with it?" Vin questioned further as they tried to unravel this puzzle that did not seem to make any sense with the clues they had so far been provided. It felt as if they were missing something, something vitally important.

"Or Buck for that matter." Chris reminded. "He’s got as much to do with the man being killed as Inez. More so in fact, since Buck’s the one who actually ran Paulo through with that oversized butter knife."

"This smells really bad Chris," Vin replied because he had something of an idea and the concept was so distasteful, particularly where Chris was involved, that the tracker was reluctant to bring it up. "He must know that Inez is having a baby. You think he waited this long so that he could kill the baby as soon as it was born. You know as some kind of sick lesson to Buck about how it feels to lose a child?"

Chris did find that distasteful but it was not a possibility he had not already considered. From the onset of discovering that Don Paulo’s father intended revenge upon them, Chris had assumed the timing had been based on that. After all, why else would the man wait for this long to take his vengeance out on those who killed his son when there had been so many opportunities in the past to do so? Instead the man had waited until two weeks before Inez’s baby was due to be born to make his move and terrorize her family. Did he intend to kill mother and child, as a lesson to Buck that Chris knew all to well? That could have been done any time in the last nine months and be just as prolific. There was no reason to wait until the child was almost born unless…

"Christ." Chris exclaimed softly because the idea was simply monstrous.

Vin looked sharply at Chris, alarmed by the sudden statement and the look of growing horror filtering into the gunslinger’s face. "What?"

"Maybe, he don’t intend to kill the baby at all." Chris met the tracker’s cobalt coloured eyes.

"Not kill the baby?" Vin did not understand but feel himself poised on the edge of something dark and Chris’ words were going to pull him over the edge. "What else would he do if he ain’t out to kill Inez and the baby?"

"Oh I think he’ll kill Inez all right" Chris quickly reiterated. "But I don’t think he’s going to kill the baby. I think he’s going to steal it."

"Jesus." Vin uttered a shocked gasp. "That’s sick."

"It is but it’s almost beautiful in its cruelty. Think about it Vin, he kills Inez and takes the baby. He has to kill Buck too or else it ain’t gonna work. However, before he kills Buck, he lets Buck know whose going to be raising the kid after he is dead."

"Great send off." Vin muttered, his insides twisting with disgust at the psychology at work and prayed that Chris was wrong, that no man was pushed so far over the edge to take their vengeance out on an unborn child, deciding its fate before it was even born.

"Yeah but perfectly reasonable if it was your child that was killed." Chris replied, knowing full well what kind of dangerous fantasies whispered in the mind of the surviving parent of dead family. How many times had he wallowed in a drunken stupor and conjured all kinds of death for his family’s murderer? It was not lost upon him that he could have gone the way the Don had now become. Bucks as well as Mary had been his salvation because his old friend had goaded him, most of the time unwillingly, into realising that life went on and he had to let go of Sarah and Adam, no matter how hard it was to say goodbye. Once, he had lashed out at Buck because he had been angry that he no longer remembered what Sarah looked like or how Adam called him pa. Now, he understood that it was necessary to forget, to let the mind acknowledge that those people were gone and let the rest of him heal with that realisation. There was no way he could have maintained a relationship with Mary or enjoy the bliss following their marriage if he had not made that final crossing from grief in to remembrance.

"We still ain’t got no idea if he’s got men in place or are they still coming." Vin grumbled, unhappy at their lack of information, particularly now after hearing Chris’ theory on what the Don’s real intentions were.

"Well we’ve learnt enough to know that he is coming and beyond that, we can wait him out." Chris pointed out, appreciating Vin’s dislike of the situation. He was not any happier about it either. Buck and Inez were his friends and any threat against them and their child was met with extreme prejudice by him. "Or we can take a ride out to Val Verde before he gets here."

"I could do that." Vin agreed. "Do we keep going on or head our at first light tomorrow?"

"No, we’ll get back to town first," Chris replied. "Let the others know what we’re doing." In truth, Chris was more specific about letting Mary know more than anything else. The last time he took a trip across the border, things had ended badly and he was definitely not making the same mistake this time around. They also needed to make contingency plans in case they got to Val Verde and found things much worse than they were. In truth, Chris preferred any confrontation with the Don to be conducted outside of Four Corners, well away from Inez or her baby.

The woman had enough troubles to deal with at the moment.

* * *

 

"I am never ever going to forgive you for this!" Julia Pemberton swore just before she flung a vase at him.

Ezra ducked, watching it sail overhead before impacting quite spectacularly on the wall behind him and spraying his coat with broken fragments before the bulk of the debris scattered all over her floor. Julia had not spoken a word to him since he had brought her back from Bitter Creek. Granted, she had been unconscious for the half the journey back, however, upon regaining consciousness, she had fired a litany of abuse at him that had yet to yield during the course of the trip back to Four Corners. Now that she was in her house, her anger showed no signs of abating as she now had ammunition to fire at him.

"Julia, I promise you. I did this for your own good." He insisted, trying to approach him and was forced back by the venomous glare she received when he took a step forward to cross the space between them.

"You…you…hit me!" She shouted angrily.

"And you have no idea how abhorrent an act that was to someone who subscribes to being a perfect gentleman and conducting oneself in a civilised manner." He retorted with typical Ezra calm which only served to infuriate her even more. Julia was pacing the floor, working herself into a proper state of unrest as she raged.

"Ezra, you have no idea what I am running from!" She said angrily, wishing she could tell him so he would understand her reasons.

"My dear," Ezra met her gaze with a hint of criticism in her eyes. "I am the last person on earth to make this admission but you need to let the money go. You obviously have a great deal of savy at at making up for the loss and you have enough left to you once you return whatever you stole from your father. If you do that, he has no power over you and I swear on my word as a gentlemen, that I will not let him touch you."

"Its too late for that," she snapped and lashed out. "He’s already done that."

"What?" He stammered, not understanding for a moment and then started to realise as he saw the expression draining into her face. Finally, he could comprehend the reason for the deep seeded fear she had been displaying ever since news about Clemens reached her. She no longer paced and the rage had oozed away to reveal something else, a terrible agony of unspoken truth that she had shared with no one until this moment.

"When I was a little girl," she said quietly. "As soon as I was old enough to understand anything, I understood that I was alive and my mother was not. To my father, nothing else was more important for me to know. Oh he spoiled me, he gave me everything that I ever asked for, I had the best that money could by but these things never came free. There was a price tag attached to it that none of my family ever knew about or even suspected. "

"Julia I never…" Ezra tried to close the gap between them but she only drew away, almost until her back was to the wall. The pain in her eyes as she spoke about something so deeply personal it cut him to pieces inside mostly because he understood what it meant to keep secrets like that. When Julia had come home following the events that transpired at Faulkner’s excavation, she found nothing amiss. Ezra revealed nothing about what had happened to him or between him, Mary and Alex. Like her, the wounds were too fresh and although he knew she guessed something was wrong, Julia had not pushed. However, the tables were now turned and he had to ask himself, whether or not he wished to do the same or respect her privacy. Even though she could not say it out loud, he had some idea of what she was edging reluctantly towards.

She had faltered in her attempt to tell him the truth. Just the memory of it, beyond the picture perfect images she had created inside her mind, was enough to make her shake like a little girl once again. She closed her eyes and the darkness that came brought the memory back even more potently as she saw herself, a small and vulnerable, listening to her breath in the dark, praying that the sounds she was hearing in the night was anything but a door turning. Papa’s dove, she would hear him say and until she was 18 years old, when she had discovered that the only way to make those nightmares stop was to replace his face with someone else’s. The rest of her family had called her a wanton without the slightest idea that she had lost her virginity when she was twelve years old.

Other girls would have gone to pieces but Julia did not, she created a vision of beauty where her father was perfect and the nightly horrors were a bad dream that she had to endure in exchange for freedom during the day. She had taught herself to stand it because she would bed any man that could take away the feeling of revulsion and in their eyes she was a siren to die for, not a creature living under the shadow of abuse. When papa became to old and she did not have to hear those words whispering in her ear when she was roused out of her sleep, then her life became mildly tolerable. She had beaten him at his own game by waiting him out and now that he was too old, she believed she had to only wait until he died and then she would truly be free.

Until Roderick Packard entered her life.

He was just another man who saw her as a vision of something else. To her father, she had been Eleanor Avery but to Roderick Packard, she was the thoroughbred in which he hoped to charm Philadelphia society into accepting him. They were two entirely different men but they were going to use her the same way. She had run because she had no choice and papa had always assumed that just because she tolerated everything that he did to her, there were no spirit left to chase her own dreams. He was wrong and she had fled, coming to Four Corners and finding her own life, one that did not rely upon her face for its existence. She was not prepared to give it up, not for anything.

"Julia I did not understand," Ezra whispered softly, taking his hands in her and telling her with a look she did not have to continue, he did not need to know even though he had guessed in these last few minutes. Julia had always said that her father had doted on her, lavished upon her all the love he never had a chance to give his wife. It was not until one applied those words in the context did Ezra realise how monstrous the statement truly was.

"Ezra, I can’t let him find me." She started to cry. "I just can’t."

"I will not let him harm you." Ezra said firmly, staring into her eyes as he spoke. "I promise you that you will never have to leave Four Corners or ever be subject to your father’s twisted desires again but you have to trust me Julia. I have ruminated considerably on the problem at hand and I do believe that I may have a solution however, it will take both of us to carry out this scheme. I cannot do it without you and you do not have a choice but to help me."

Julia swallowed hard and nodded slowly. "I’m sorry Ezra," she whispered as he bundled her up in his arms and held her close. Feeling the safety of his embrace was enough to dispel some of the fear she was feeling if not all of it. "I’ve never spoken to anyone about what happened with papa. There was a time when I did not even think what he did was wrong. He certainly never did. As far as he was concerned he was loving me the same way he loved my mother."

Ezra tried to imagine what it was like and felt his heart constrict in his chest at the very thought of a helpless little girl, unknowing that the deep love and affection her father was displaying towards her was anything but healthy. It explained in great depth why a highborn woman of her class would take lovers with as much frequency as she might change dresses. There had been the puzzle he had been attempting to unravel since the day he met her and understood until now why it had been elusive because not even Ezra could have deciphered the hidden meaning of her words.

"I cannot imagine what horrors you must have endured." He said softly, still holding her in his arms. He wanted to protect her and keep her safe from the monster who would trick a child into believing that such was the way it should have been between a father and a child. The sins of fathers were great of late and he wondered if he should not count himself fortunate that he barely knew his own before his passing. "It must have been awful."

Her eyes hardened. "I didn’t know it was meant to be any other way." She whispered softly as he stroked the fine strands of her red hair. "Except that I could never stomach it and then I was sixteen, someone else looked at me that way and it did not hurt so much. I tell people that my father was wonderful and Josiah reminds of papa except Josiah doesn’t do the things papa does. Josiah is the way I always wanted papa to be."

"He will never hurt you again," Ezra declared and meant it absolutely. When they had first come together, Ezra had known he had loved her from the start, he just did not realise for one moment how much. He was somewhat astonished that they had survived the first month when in his mind, he had envisioned that she was a bright spark in his life that would end eventually, as all the good times in his life often did when he least expected it. However, Julia had surprised Ezra by not vanishing and with the months that tumbled past, Ezra came to realise that she was a permanent fixture in his life. He would die to protect her, just as he would die without her.

Julia met his gaze and found that she believed him just as she trusted him when he claimed to have a solution to of her predicament. "I love you Ezra," she said softly. "I would not still be here if it were not for that." She offered him a faint smile but her eyes still showed her fear.

"I know that, my darling." Ezra whispered in her ear. "And I promise, you will never have cause to regret that."

Ezra hoped the plan he had in mind was a sound as his confidence.

* * *

Men were in place.

They had arrived a little more than a week ago, posing as the drifters that inevitably came to a town like Four Corners and stayed a spell. In service to Don Alejandro Paulo for longer than the time spent in this small community, they remained anonymous, being instructed repeatedly on this point while the leader amongst them kept their quarry under close surveillance as the days progressed. The warning to keep away was not to be taken lightly for the lady was under the protection of seven men who acted as the law in town. Each in their own way formidable and combined they were a force to be reckoned with and certainly not to be underestimated. Judging by the esteem she was held by these men, it was almost assured that they would kill anyone who would attempt to harm her.

It was a strange arrangement for any outsider not familiar with the situation surrounding Inez and the seven. Most of the man had attachments elsewhere and Inez herself, according to rumour was with child to one of the lawmen, although this union had not been sealed in matrimonial ceremony despite the scandalous nature of her position. With the exception of a select few, it became obvious to Don’s men, that the lady had been publicly vilified by most of the town’s folk for her unfortunate condition. To them, it made little difference because she had a part to play in Alejandro’s plan that did not require her reputation to be pristine.

Every man in town at the behest of Don Alejandro Paulo had been in loyal service to the man over the years. Most had taken this task begrudgingly, aware that this was a necessary evil that had to be carried out if the man was ever to pick up the reins of his life once more and be the leader and pillar they had once knew. They could care less for his son and cared more for the fact that his death had driven his father to the edge of sanity, rather than any true need for vengeance. Don Stefano Paulo had been since childhood, a capricious being who engender no loyalty in the men who served his father, possibly because they had seen the jarring contrast between father and son. However, if it required the death of this woman and her lover to bring Don Paulo senior back to his right mind, then it was a price they were happy to pay.

Since the boy’s death, they had noticed the change in the man’s behaviour. He had become more erratic and the compassion that had inspired their loyalty was well run dry. He obsessed more and more about his son’s death and began to forget that the boy was a burden from the day he was born. Those in his service, humoured him because he was a father in grief but as the months progressed, his sorrow showed no signs of abating and the man he had once been was almost withered away in the need for vengeance. They knew of no other way to help him other than to satisfy that need so that perhaps he could go on living again.

This morning, one of the men stationed in the saloon where the lady worked, reported that she was preparing to leave the room that she had occupied during her residency in town and was planning to move to a new location outside of it. This coupled with the fact that two of the seven were seen riding out of town at dawn, brought a whole new perspective to the situation. Although an unexpected wrinkle had emerged in the appearance of Paloma Recillos in town, the warning she had given her daughter had only served to further their cause since the attention of the five remaining lawmen were divided between offering Inez and her mother protection. Since Paloma had not been receptive to her daughter’s condition as any good Christian woman would be, they were not guarded together and once again the number of those protecting Inez was further lessened.

They gathered in the livery in secret later that morning, when the new intelligence had been gathered and decisions had to be made as to their next course of action. Ramirez who was the makeshift leader of the group, shared his men’s desire to have this duty over and done with. It reeked with dishonour but their conditioning to offer the Don’s unswerving loyalty urged them to continue providing it. Ramirez was a man in his late forties, he had been in the service of the Don for nearly two decades and was aware how much the man was twisting inside from the death of his son. As he gathered his men inside the livery, he almost felt relieved that very soon the Don would have his vengeance and perhaps they might get back the master they had served for so long.

"We move as soon as it gets dark." Ramirez informed his men behind the livery stable. They could not converge like this for long. Their anonymity had been assured the past week because they had not openly gathered in these numbers. Instructions had been communicated between the group, one at a time and always under the cover of dark and at some isolated location that would not rouse suspicion. The need for secrecy was a must. The agent who had stayed here for months watching the lady had reported on the efficiency of her guardians and Ramirez was not prepared to take any chances.

"What about the ones guarding the old lady?" One of his men inquired.

"Let them stay where they are," Ramirez replied. "If they wish to believe that the old lady and her daughter are in danger, then so be it. It only helps us that they remain in town with the women and not at the farm with Inez and her lover."

"Do we take her lover?" Someone else asked.

"No," Ramirez shook his head. "Wilmington dies tonight." He said grimly, knowing in the pit of his stomach that it was nothing less than murder that they were committing and men of honour did not find such a task palatable. "Don Paulo was very specific about that." He swallowed the bile in his throat at hearing the Don’s orders play in his head and knowing that this part of the plan fell to him. "None of you need worry, you are only required to take Inez back to Val Verde. The task of killing Wilmington is mine."

"You Ramirez?" Eduardo, one of the younger men in the group looked at him. "You are intending to do this alone?"

"Yes," Ramirez nodded sombrely. "The Don would have me deliver a message to Wilmington before he dies, so he can go to the grave knowing what it is the Don has planned for Inez and his child."

"Does he intend to kill the baby?" Someone asked because no one was familiar with the plan beyond acquiring the lady and returning to Val Verde.

As that statement was made, all eyes looked at Ramirez in question and the man knew that if it were indeed the plan to commit such a monstrous act of murder, he would not have participated in it. There was no amount of loyalty in any of them that would allow such a thing to transpire. As it was, Ramirez would have been happier if the Don had hired men who were accustomed to such work to handle this situation for him but Alejandro trusted no one other than those he knew and thus Ramirez was forced to carry out this undertaking himself. "Of course not." Ramirez said quickly before the idea was allowed to take root and he was faced with dissension. "I have only been told we are to bring Inez back to Val Verde."

The others seemed satisfied with that even though Ramirez knew they were all in two minds about what the Don required of them. Loyalty alone was fuelling their incentive in this matter and Ramirez knew that they all had doubts already as to the fate of Inez Rossilos when she finally returned home, in particular that of her child. While it was one thing to take vengeance on a wanton who had found herself in the circumstances that Inez had, it was another thing entirely to place blame upon a child who was not even conceived when the younger Don Paulo had been killed.

In truth, he knew precisely what the Don had planned for Inez but he was not voicing it to the others as of yet. He had no idea how they would take it because he was still mixed about it himself and the truth was, he needed them too much at the moment to jeopardise their appointment tonight.

"One other thing," Ramirez warned as he prepared to disband the group once more. "Stay indoors today. Paloma and Calla knows us all by sight, she cannot be allowed to bring us to the attention of Inez’s guardians."

The others seemed to agree and nodded their approval with his suggestion when he finally gave them leave to go, following some last minute instructions on when they should rendezvous for their nocturnal incursion and their subsequent journey home to Val Verde with Inez Recillos in their company. 

* * *

After her fiery exit from the Standish Tavern, it was Josiah Sanchez who finally dared to approach Paloma and Calla Rossillos at their lodging house and explain to them that in light of the danger represented by the vengeful Don Paulo, it was best to move to alternate accommodations. Ambivalent as she was in accepting anyone’s help, particularly those who in her view were responsible for her daughter’s decline in morality, it helped when she learnt that Josiah was a man of the cloth. It did not matter that he had not been a practising clergyman for some time or that he was more a man of the law than he was of God, the fact that he had been a preacher was enough to warrant her trust.

Fortunately, with this advantage, Josiah was able to convince Paloma that perhaps it would be wiser if she took refuge in his church for the duration. With the threat of Don Paulo’s revenge on Inez more or less confirmed with her arrival in Four Corners, the task of guarding her would be much easily carried out inside the confines of his church rather than the small, cramp space of their room in the lodging house. Besides, Josiah hoped that perhaps time with Inez’s friends might convince the lady that her daughter was not the bad seed that she believed her to be. Like the rest of the seven, Josiah was aware of how brutally she had received news of Inez’s pregnancy. While Josiah had not turned away from the Lord so completely as to forget the commandments, he did know that God seldom viewed any one person so unilaterally and if the Almighty could do that then perhaps it would not harm men to do the same.

However, the woman was damn near impossible to convince and no matter how much he tried to reach her on this point, Paloma was immovable. Calla however, did not appear as judgemental and seemed bound by what her mother had decided for them both instead of how she truly felt. Josiah felt for the girl because it seemed as if she was caught between her love and loyalty for both her sister and Paloma and the only conceivable way that Josiah could see her breaking out of this trap was if Inez and her mother were reconciled.

  
"Give it up Josiah." Nathan had suggested after he had witnessed another pointless discussion between Josiah and Paloma. Nathan had to give Josiah some credit for his determination. The preacher was fired up to solve this situation and did not intend on giving up, no matter how stubborn Paloma was that her daughter was nothing more than a whore. Nathan could appreciate the flare of anger in Josiah’s manner as those words were used and found himself having to bit his tongue and keep his own annoyance in check at that term being used to refer to Inez. Like the preacher, Nathan thought very highly of Inez and even though he was annoyed that Rain was working in the saloon, he had to be grateful that Inez had offered Rain the job in the first place, allowing her to stay in Four Corners. "There ain’t no way you gonna convince that woman of anything."

"It’s the challenge that makes us," Josiah said sipping a cup of coffee and glancing at the back room where Paloma had taken her daughter after their latest debate on Inez’s situation.

"It’s a shame that she’s gotta be so thick headed." Nathan shook his head in distaste wondering why it was so important that ceremony be observed with such rigidity that it eclipsed the joy of new life coming into world. "I mean with Inez only being weeks away from delivering, it would have been good for her to have her momma near by."

"Her mother is a proud lady," Josiah pointed out. "Sometimes you raise your expectations of how you want your child to be, it ain’t easy discovering that they can’t always live up to the dream." Josiah knew personally what it was like to be raised this way. His missionary father had such lofty dreams for both his children and while Josiah had managed in part to fulfil some of his father’s wishes, his sister’s struggles for her own identity had led to tragedy.

"Hello." A decidedly feminine voice sang out from the main entrance of the church. Nathan and Josiah turned to see Audrey King standing at the door, as if awaiting permission to enter even though it was public domain.

"Audrey, nice to see you." Josiah said feeling a genuine smile of pleasure stealing across his face at the sight of the widow. After their supper together, an evening which Josiah thoroughly enjoyed, the widow was more at ease with being around him and had dropped in on occasion to say hello whenever time allowed for it. On this occasion, she came armed with a basket and although Josiah could not see what was in it, he could certainly smell the tasty aroma of warm biscuits.

"I made biscuits today," Audrey replied, feeling a little bit embarrassed, debating whether or not she was being forward with this gesture. "I thought Mrs Recillos might like them. Mary told me that she was here."

Josiah shrugged, uncertain whether or not company for the lady was such a good idea at the moment. "I don’t know Audrey," Josiah explained honestly, not wishing to lie to her but not wanting Mrs Recillos' venom aimed at her in any way. Since their supper, Josiah was finding that he had real feelings for the woman but he was determined not to rush her because it he sensed she still had reservation about him. However, the truth was, he did not know enough about Audrey to gauge how she would react if Paloma took her act of kindness badly. " The lady’s awful mad and she don’t like too many people asking her about her daughter. If you’re going to see her, I suggest not bringing up Inez."

"Yeah," Nathan agreed, noticing the chemistry between the two and trying not to smirk as he spoke to her. "She gave Josiah an earful already."

"Well," Audrey said confidently on that point at least. "I did not intend to bring it up. I was just meaning to be friendly." Really, her reason here had more to do with seeing Josiah than Inez’s mother but Audrey had not wanted to seem too forward by just appearing on Josiah’s doorstep.

"That never goes astray," the preacher grinned. "She’s in those room back there." Josiah gestured toward the back rooms that ran at behind the congregation hall of the church. As he watched her walk past him, attempting to face the lion in his den, Josiah hoped sincerely that she would not get bitten too badly.

When Audrey had inquired after Inez, Mary had told her the whole story of how badly Paloma had taken the news of Inez’s pregnancy. Remembering first hand how distraught the poor woman had been at her treatment by anyone who felt it their business to offer judgement on her condition, Audrey’s heart had gone out to Inez. While she had no intention of making any entreaty to Paloma, she wondered how any mother could treat her daughter that way at a time like this. Lilith with all her flaws was still her daughter and while Audrey would have liked a child with her own flamboyant disposition, she loved her daughter nonetheless for those very differences.

Knocking on the door to Paloma’s room, she heard a taut invitation to enter and reconsidered the idea of making contact with the woman. However, since she was the door already, it seemed like a moot point since she had made her presence known already. Audrey peered into the room and saw two women, one who looked nothing at all like Inez and another who appeared to be a younger version. The girl appeared to be very unhappy and Audrey had the distinct impression that she had intruded upon a private discussion.

"Senora Recillos," Audrey introduced herself as Paloma began to eye her sharply. "I am pleased to meet you and your daughter, I am Audrey."

"Are you another of my daughter’s ‘friends’?" Paloma regarded her with a tone of voice that was anything but pleasant.

"Yes," Audrey replied, determined not to be intimidated by the woman’s imposing stare. She could well understand how distressed Inez must have been after a verbal barrage from her mother. Paloma looked as if she could cut a person to ribbons with the sharp edge of her words. "Inez is a friend of mine but I came to see you for no purpose other than to offer a greeting to our fair town. I myself am new to Four Corners and I know what it is like to be a stranger in a new place."

"You were not chased out of your home," Paloma retorted. "We were."

"Mama!" Calla spoke up with a surge of dismay. "I’m sure Miss Audrey was only being nice."

"I am no fool," she whirled on Audrey. "I know that you are all trying to convince me that my daughter is a saint. Do not waste your time, Inez is dead to me now." Paloma said fiercely.

Audrey nodded slightly, keeping her own annoyance under control and forcing herself to remember that Paloma was very angry and was lashing out at her because she could not do it to Inez. "That is unfortunate." Audrey replied after a moment. "Tell me Mrs Recillos , would you rather her be dishonoured than dead?"

Paloma stared at her, unable to fathom when Audrey continued. "It’s actually worse for you to have your honour stained than it is for you to bear her dying isn’t it?"

"I love my children, you with your nice clothes and your soft hands, do you know what I have endured to raise them, to see that they are brought up well?" Paloma snapped, feeling defensive because this stranger’s question had struck a nerve and Paloma found that she could not find a satisfactory answer within herself to respond.

"We all endure that Mrs Recillos," Audrey looked at her sharply. "Some of us fail but we all know what it is like to stay up at nights and worry about our children, even those of us with soft hands." She concluded, without a hint of bitterness at Paloma’s earlier insult.

"She was raised better than to become pregnant like this." Paloma said defiantly. "I raised her to be have respect for herself and the ways of God."

Audrey let out a heavy sigh. "We all raise our children according to our ways but it does not always happen. This is not a perfect world Mrs Recillos, what we want for our children is seldom what occurs. Children have a mind of their own and no matter what we may dream for them, they must find their own way and unfortunately, sometimes the way is wrong. When one is young as they are, with their entire lives before, what need is there to stop and think of consequences or what awaits at the end of life when there is so much today before them? Mistakes are permissible in youth that what being young is all about. We learn from what we err in our childhood. I am sure, Inez more than anyone is aware of that now. Rebuke her if you wish but do not call what she has done a disgrace. There are not many who have faced the judgement at the hands of this town but she has done it, without fear or hesitation. All that matters to her is the child, not the disgrace. It’s a pity that you cannot say the same."

"That is not true," Paloma retaliated but she could not find the argument to refute anything that Audrey had said. It was true, Inez had put the child before the disgrace and Paloma had not. Paloma had  _disowned_  the child to avoid the disgrace. There was something unforgivable in that act that made the woman unable to say anything in her defence. "It is not true." She muttered, trying harder to convince herself than those present.

"Yes it is mama!" Calla cried out. "I love Inez and I don’t care that she’s going to have a baby. She said so herself, she is going to marry soon, what difference does it make?" Calla had been too afraid to speak out; allowing herself only bursts of defiance to express her dismay at the situation that had developed between her mother and her sister. "I want to be apart of my niece or nephew’s life mama and I think you are wrong to be so cruel to Inez, especially when Don Paulo is coming after her. What if he harms her mama? What if something happens to her and the last words you said to her, are truly the last things she will ever hear from you?"

"You will not speak to me with such insolence Calla," Paloma retorted angrily. Her voice was little more than a whisper and Audrey could see she was struggling to justify her actions towards her daughter when both a stranger and her child had brought up valid points to which there was no argument she could use.

However, Calla was beyond hearing and promptly hurried out the door, leaving Audrey alone with Paloma. "I hardly know Inez Mrs Recillos, I do not know whether we could even be called friends. When I came in here, I did so with the intention of welcoming you to Four Corners, not to change your mind about your daughter. No one can make that decision but you and it is one you must make alone." Audrey turned towards the door, prepared to take the same path out of the room that Calla had used a short time ago.

"Wait." Paloma said suddenly, the hostility drained from her face as she stared at Audrey. A faint whisper of a smile curled the corner of her lips. She swallowed hard as if she was trying to make a momentous decision before speech finally left her lips. "I would like it if you stayed a while." Paloma said finally.

A slow smile of equal brilliance stole across Audrey’s face and she answered with some measure of satisfaction. "It would be my pleasure, Mrs Recillos."

"Paloma," the woman returned. "My name is Paloma, Audrey."

"It is good to know you Paloma." Audrey replied and held up the basket in her hand that was forgotten in the last few minutes. "I had come bearing biscuits." She offered the woman a friendly smile.

Paloma met her gaze and answered. "Perhaps, we can have it while we sit and I let you tell me, how brave my daughter has been."

* * *

Ezra only had to look at Julia and know her needs to run was overwhelming.

It was no easy thing he was asking of her and he knew it, which was why he agreed to accompany her when she finally sent for Clemens who had by now guessed that Julia Pemberton and Julia Avery were one and the same person. Before he flashed that picture of Julia in his possession to any more people in town, Ezra had convinced her that she needed to put an end to his inquiries before the entire town pointed the man in her direction. While Clemens had not revealed why he was searching for Julia, the photograph was recognised by enough people for him to know that his search for the lady had finally come to fruition.

Julia had sent for the man to meet her in her office at the Emporium with Ezra standing close by to offer moral support. While it might look like to Clemens that this was just another meeting, it was anything but that. Ezra had a plan and to put it into effect, there had to be some established foreground from which to work with. As the door knocked and Ezra saw Julia shudder in her chair, Ezra knew that his plan had to work or else she would disappear out of his life and he had the sneaking suspicion that she was just terrified enough to sacrifice their relationship in her flight.

"Come in," Julia swallowed thickly, trying to hide how she truly felt by slipping a mask of indifference over her face almost as flawlessly as he concealed his emotions from everyone he knew as a professional requirement.

Ezra who stood by her side as she sat at her desk, squeezed her hand gently to show her that she was not alone in this. "Are you ready?" He inquired hastily before Clemens made his entry into the room.

Julia nodded and answered softly. "As I will ever be." She said reluctantly.

Ezra had no more chance to add any last minute instructions, when Clemens walked into the room. He stared at Julia first and then at Ezra, with a hint of accusation about the gambler’s deception when they had first met.

"Miss Avery." Clemens declared.

"Pemberton." Julia corrected. "I prefer you call me Miss Pemberton." Her tone bore none of the fear that been so transparent to Ezra a second ago and he felt proud at her ability to maintain the facade so well.

"Miss Pemberton." Clemens nodded in understanding, not wishing to upset the lady since their business was hardly pleasant.

"I believe you have already met Mr Standish." Julia introduced Ezra as she beckoned Clemens to take a seat.

"Yes," Clemens retorted eyeing Ezra critically. "I am assuming that you and Miss Pemberton have an attachment of sorts?" In truth, Clemens knew perfectly well they had because during his inquiries around town, he had learnt about Julia’s life here and her known confederates.

"I apologise for deceiving you earlier Mr Clemens," Ezra apologised. "As you can appreciate, I was unwilling to make any disclosure until I was aware of Miss Pemberton’s version of the facts."

"I do," Clemens replied with surprising empathy. "Now, Miss Pemberton as you probably are aware by now, your father has hired the Pinkerton Agency to locate you."

"Mr Clemens," Ezra said coolly. "You have found Miss Pemberton and you have performed your task admirably considering what you indicate to me was required to find her, however, Miss Pemberton is under no legal obligation to return with you anywhere and she does have a right to her privacy."

"That is true." Clemens agreed, realising now with whom he would be dealing with and shifted his focus accordingly. "However, I am not the law. I am a private citizen from a private agency. I can pass this information to her father and I am informed there is a matter of some money…." He looked at Julia, having guessed already that the amount in question was used to finance the establishment of the business they were presently in.

"I am willing to pay that sum back in full." Julia stated firmly. "However, I do not wish my whereabouts to be disclosed to my father."

"I cannot help that." Clemens replied sincerely.

"What exactly would it take to make you forget you found Miss Pemberton, Mr Clemens?" Ezra looked at him.

"Are you proposing a bribe?" The detective stared at him with an unreadable expression.

"You are not a government official to make that illegal," Ezra remarked automatically, unperturbed by his manner. However, he had to know how the man thought to be able to devise a way to rid Julia of her problem.

"A bribe is still a bribe." The man pointed out. "I am not swayed by such things and my job is something I take seriously, as my duty to my clients. I am afraid that any monetary remuneration is quite impossible to sway that task."

"Then you leave me no choice Mr Clemens," Julia replied, remembering what Ezra had told her to say in case this response was received from the man. "I cannot allow my father to find me. I would however ask you to take the money I owe my father back to him and you may tell him my present whereabouts, I do not think it will make any difference by the time he arrives here."

"I take it you will be departing." Clemens said uncomfortably. He had no reason to stop her from going because as Standish had pointed out, she was of sound mind and of adult age to be able to move about freely. While he had been hired to find her for Donald Avery, there was no way he could coerce her into going with him, if she chose otherwise, which apparently she had.

"I have no choice but to leave." Julia answered. "By the time, you depart, Mr Standish and I will be preparing to quit Four Corners permanently. However, if you can run that one errand for me. I will appreciate it."

"Your father is determined to find you Miss Pemberton," he pointed out. "If it is not I who comes after you, someone else will. Would it not be simpler if you just accompanied me back to Philadelphia and tell him for yourself your reasons for leaving. He strikes me a most understanding man."

Julia stiffened visibly and Ezra said the dark hatred that surfaced in her eyes from that one statement. Suddenly, Ezra had some idea of what kind of abuse she must have endured to engender that much anger. He had never suspected its existence and Ezra felt some measure of guilt at that because it was something he should have seen. He had made it his profession to read people and even if he had not been able to see through the well crafted illusion, Julia had fabricated about her father. He supposed any false truth was better than the reality of it.

"Miss Pemberton’s issues with her father are not your concern as are her reasons for not seeing him Mr Clemens," Ezra spoke for Julia, knowing that she took great offence to the man referring to her father as an ‘understanding’ man. Besides, the trap was set for Clemens and this interview had outlived its usefulness. "If you would give us a date for departure, then we can make the arrangements to transfer the cash to your person."

"Of course," Clemens replied, having guessed that he was being dismissed. "I will let you know of my travel arrangements as soon as I have the information. Good day Miss Pemberton," He tipped his hat in her direction and then nodded slightly at Ezra’s direction before leaving the room.

When he was gone, Julia let out a sigh of relief, glad that that whole process was finally over. She knew as well as he did that Clemens had taken the bait and the success of their entire scheme had hinged upon that one fact. Ezra had promised her that if their plan worked, she would not only continue her anonymity from her father but also allowed her to retain the money that she had absconded from him during her initial flight from home.

"You really think this will work?" Julia looked at Ezra hopefully, wanting him to give her good news. In this matter, Julia did not think she could stand it to be otherwise.

"Not only will it work," Ezra allowed himself a confident smile, now more or less certain that he knew what made Mr Clemens tick and knowing that had given Ezra an exploitable weakness they could use to their advantage. "It will work well. Trust me." He offered her a smug grin before leaning over to plant a kiss on her lips. "I told you," he said as his features softened. "I will not let any harm come to you."

"I hope so," she answered, not sharing his optimism even if she believe that he would protect her from her father. "I hate to leave this place if this doesn’t work."

"It will work." Ezra retorted quickly, unprepared to let that happen under any circumstances. Both their lives were too seeded in Four Corners to walk away from it and he knew that Julia did not wish to begin life on the run. She was in her element as the owner of the Pemberton Emporium and Ezra truly believed that it was the first time in her life where she felt her physical attributes were not all there was to her existence. She had a sense of accomplishment here that Ezra was determined she keep.

Ezra just hoped the gamble he was taking with her life would work because he was not prepared to lose her.

* * *

When Inez Recillos stepped through the door to her new home, she had expected to see clutter and chaos stacked in boxes everywhere, with no sense made to anything. However, when she finally arrived at the homestead she had newly leased from Mary Larabee and entered the threshold of the front door, she had reason to pause and utter a quiet gasp that bordered on awe and surprise. Even Buck and JD who were with her, acting as guardians while this threat of Don Alejandro Paulo’s loomed over her head, were somewhat astonished by what Mary and company had managed to accomplish making the house suitable for habitation.

It was almost nightfall and Inez had spent the day with Buck, gathering the last of her things from the saloon for the big move to the homestead. Despite herself, Inez felt herself strangely nostalgic at the departure from the home she had known for the past two years. While it was odd feeling sorry to leave a place that was nothing more than a room in a saloon, Inez could not deny that she felt sad to say goodbye to the premises. So much had happened to her since she first arrived in Four Corners and this room had a fixed place in the history of her life here.

Even Ezra felt somewhat melancholic as she left the saloon and apologised profusely that he could not be present for her journey to her new home since he and Julia were facing something of a minor crisis of their own. Inez did not know the full details but guessed what it could be if the news aroudn town about a Pinkerton detective search for Julia was accurate. She knew that Mary, Alex and Rain had been taking turns putting the house in order before her arrival but even Inez was somewhat awed at what their combined efforts had managed to yield in little under a day.

"Wow, this looks real nice." JD exclaimed boisterously as he helped Buck with the last of Inez’s things and set down in what passed for the parlour of the home. He recalled what the place had looked like the last time they were here when Chris Larabee had set a deadly trap for the men who had murdered Steven Travis, using Billy as bait. At the time, the killers had attempted to draw Chris and Billy out of their hiding place by setting fire to the house. Fortunately, as always, the rest of the seven had made a timely arrival and prevented a second tragedy from occurring and extinguishing the flames in time to preserve the building. Since then, JD was aware of some renovation work taking place to restore the house to some semblance of habitability. However, even he was impressed with the finished product before them.

"Thanks JD," Alex greeted as she stepped out of the kitchen. She had been putting the finishing touches on that part of the room and was glad to have all of it done by the time Inez had finally arrived. "We worked around the clock to get it done tonight. When it’s all said and done, you owe us a dinner of that great Mexican food you cook at the Tavern." Alex smiled as she approached Inez.

"Done." Inez exclaimed as she embraced Alex when the woman neared her, fighting to keep the emotion out of her voice. After that awful exchange with her mother, Inez was glad to know that she had so many friends to help her. The last few days had been an eye opening experience, revealing that she was not alone in her situation. If anything, she had learnt just how many people she had in her life who were willing to ignore the social taboo of her pregnancy and stand apart from the town’s intolerance of her. It stung deeply that her friends were more understanding than her mother whom Inez had not seen since their quarrel in the saloon. In truth, Inez had done a good deal of thinking the night before to know that it would not make any difference if her mother never wished to speak to her again.

"It sure is Alex," Buck agreed, expressing his admiration for what all the women had done with a wide grin. "It looks real nice."

"Well," Alex said with a smile. "After everything you’ve been through lately, it’s the least we could do."

"No kidding." JD could not disagree. "Buck, I’ll take a ride around the place and check things out. You can stay here with Inez if you like."

"Nah," Buck shook his head. "I ain’t gonna be stuck here listening to two women nagging about things." As he made that remark, Buck threw a perfectly devilish grin at the three women present.

"And such a wise decision that is," Alex retorted sarcastically, "considering the wealth of material we have to work with where you are concerned."

"I do declare Doctor Styles," Buck teased, enjoying the jousting verbally with the doctor. "Your tongue is sharper than a scalpel."

"So they tell me." Alex laughed. "I have no idea how Vin puts up with it." She gave Buck a little wink of mischief.

"Hey," Inez interjected, "do I have separate you two?"

"No I’m screaming surrender," Buck threw up his hands, conceding defeat. Besides, he did want to join JD and take that ride around the homestead to make certain that there was no one about. He took Inez’s safety very seriously and knew that in her present condition, she would be able to do little to defend herself if trouble came her way. Buck would spare her that if he could help it. As it was, her mood towards him had improved significantly in the last day. For the first time since her acceptance of his proposal of marriage, it felt as if her reasons were not motivated by the impending birth of their child but out of a genuine sense of love for him. Knowing he had finally succeeded in engendering such emotion in her made Buck all the more determined not to squander the chance. "You gals going to be alright?" He asked as he started to walk out of the house.

"We’ll be fine." Inez smiled at him. "You take care of yourself."

Once again, the show of emotion made Buck swell inwardly and he threw her a happy grin before answering in departure. "You get some rest, I’ll be back later."

* * *

"Looks like things are working out between you and Inez," JD said as they left the house and took a quick ride around the Travis homestead. It was already dark and Buck was not too eager to spend too much time away from the main house where Inez and Alex were presently situated. With no idea how far ahead Don Paulo’s plan of revenge had progressed since chasing Paloma and Calla Recillos out of Val Verde, Buck did not want to take any chances.

"I guess they are." Buck said with a smile, unable to deny how pleased he was that his relationship with Inez was finally on the right track. He had spent the day with her and was amazed how much about the lady he did not know. While he had spent the last two years lusting and pursuing her, Buck found that he knew very little about Inez personally. Not only was she going to be his wife and the only woman that he had loved in recent years but she had also transformed into a riddle that he wanted to spend his whole life trying to unravel.

"Have you set a date for the wedding?" JD inquired, unspoken in his own joy at his friend’s circumstances. As far as JD was concerned, Inez could become the madam of a bordello and he would still have considered her the finest woman he ever knew, next to Mary Travis, although he found Inez more approachable of the two. Inez had always reminded him of his ma because she was strong and formidable like his mother had been but had a tender side that seemed to emerge only when she was around him. He remembered the occasions when she had tended to him when he had been wounded or sick, where she had sat at his bedside and sang songs to him in Spanish that lulled him to sleep even though he did not understand the words. Buck and Inez were two of the most important people in the world to him and JD was thrilled that they were finally sealing their union in a more formal arrangement.

"After the baby comes I think." Buck replied evasively because he and Inez had not really discussed the subject in length. Personally he would prefer to be married before the baby arrived but he could appreciate why Inez would want to wait until after its birth.

"I guess it’s hard to plan a wedding when you have no idea when the baby is going to show up." JD answered, seeing the intelligence in waiting.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Nothing worse than going into labour on your wedding day."  _Or a wedding night_. Buck smiled inwardly, feeling a bit of the devil in him as that thought crossed him mind. "I’d like it to be special day for her," Buck added after a moment. "I don’t want her to have to worry about if the baby is going to show up all through it."

"Are you scared Buck?" The youth inquired, looking at him.

"Of what?" Buck asked.

"Of being a father." JD answered because Buck had never seemed the type to strike him as fatherly even though his behaviour to JD had always been that. Somehow when it was directed at JD, it did not seem paternal even though JD knew Buck was looking out for him more than he did the others.

"A little," Buck confessed, having never been asked the question prior to this. "But to tell ya the truth, I’m kind of looking forward to it you know." A slow smile stole across his face. "Time was, I was terrified of it but after I got to thinking about it really, I found that I wouldn’t mind a family some day. So it didn’t turn up the way I expected it would but I got more than most men do in the same situation. I love Inez and I do want to marry her so I ain’t complaining."

JD was about to respond when suddenly Buck heard something in the darkness and silenced him with a look. His eyes scanned the immediate vicinity, trying to see past the foliage surrounding them. "Quiet." He whispered cautiously and JD nodded quietly, as the two studied the surrounding area with deep scrutiny. Buck was uncertain of what he had heard but upon hearing it no more, he relaxed a little but not much.

"What was it Buck?" JD asked, not having heard the sound himself but relying upon the stony expression on Buck’s face completely. Buck was rarely serious about anything but when it was needed, JD knew that Buck’s instinct were sharp and never to be underestimated.

"Nothing." He shook his head, unable to identify the source of what he heard as that made by man or animal but could not shake this tightening across his chest. "Come on," he urged, turning his horse towards the house. "Let’s get back."

"If you say so Buck," the younger man agreed, realising Buck’s concern had not evaporated even if his suspicion of something amiss had not been confirmed. Without offering any further argument, JD directed his horse to follow Buck back to the house.

* * *

In the darkness that Buck had not been able penetrate, Ramirez and his men finally let out their breaths when they had seen him and his young companion withdraw. While it might have been simpler to kill Wilmington now, Ramirez wanted the element of surprise on their side when they finally emerged from their hiding places. Watching the two lawmen disappear into the night, most likely on the way back to the house, Ramirez knew they had to be intercepted before they got there. Once the coast was clear, he turned to his men and whispered quietly when he was certain that his voice would not carry across the woods or give away their position.

"You know what to do." He replied.

"Si Ramirez," his younger comrade nodded. "We’ll take the woman." 

"Good," Ramirez answered, motioning them to get on their way. He had his own task to fulfil and that involved a rendezvous with Don Paulo’s killer.

It would be the last rendezvous that Buck Wilmington would ever make with anyone.

 


	6. Ambush

 

"So have you seen your mother at all?" Alex inquired as she gave Inez a quick examination.

"No," Inez said sadly as she sat on the edge of the mattress, submitting complacently to Alex’s ministrations. After the last months of poking and prodding by the doctor, all for her benefit of course, Inez no longer found the examinations as intrusive as she had believed when she had first started consulting the doctor. In many ways, having Alex as attending physician was quite comforting and despite herself a little less intimidating than having Nathan examine her. While she considered Nathan a good friend, he was also male and no matter what the town thought about her moral fibre, Inez did not wish her doctor to be a man. "But I don’t care."

Alex said nothing as she continued her exam but knew that was far from the truth. Inez very much wanted her mother to be a part of this but circumstances had made that impossible. Alex wished it was not so not only for the health of her patient but a child’s entry into the world was a reason for rejoicing not nitpicking at the morality of it. It was not as if Inez was not going to married soon enough and Alex found Paloma’s attitude to be selfish and self righteous. However as a doctor, she had to confess to being that way herself, particularly when her patients were concerned so she was somewhat biased herself in regards to this issue.

"So are you going to be inhabiting this place on your own with the baby or do I detect the possibility of a male presence in the near future?" Alex asked instead of bringing up the subject of Paloma Recillos, especially after seeing the hurt expression in Inez’s eyes even though she claimed she cared not what her mother thought of her pregnancy and her impending marriage.

"You mean Buck." Inez brightened when Alex had finished the last of her tests and was packing up her medical instruments in her worn doctor’s bag.

"Unless there is some other man you have not told us about." Alex teased.

"Well we have not talked about the wedding yet but I suppose that when that does happen, he will be living here." Inez replied. "It would be nice." She found herself admitting and was more surprised than anyone else that she actually meant it.

"I sense a warming in your relations with Buck." Alex remarked as she snapped her doctor’s bag close.

"Its very strange," Inez confessed. "When I agreed to marry him a few days ago, I was not sure about anything. I thought that I was marrying him for all the wrong reasons because I wanted the baby to have a name and a father. However, since my mother has come to town, she had been more instrumental in bringing us together and making me see Buck differently than anything that has happened these past months."

Alex took a seat on the mattress next to her Inez and remarked. "Inez, I know Buck for a shorter time than you and he’s always going to be the same. Kind hearted, funny, not as dumb as he looks and possessing the mentality of a ten year old but I tell you," she paused and let an expression of fondness seep into her face. "He’s made a supreme effort to be responsible and to show you that he can be everything you need in a husband, not simply as a provider or a father figure. He has stood by you when its mattered the most and only you can say for certain whether or not you think its out of obligation or love. From an outsider's point of view, I say the latter of two. I for one will be happy to see you both in this house."

Alex’s words drew a wealth of emotion from Inez and the Mexican felt inordinately grateful to be blessed with the friendship of the doctor and those like her. "Gracias Alex," Inez said after she was able to compose herself. "I just want you to know that I would not have been able to do this without you, Mary, Julia or all the others. I know it has not been easy standing by me during this time but I am grateful.."

"Wait until you get my bill." Alex chuckled. "Will you be alright here on your own for awhile?" Alex inquired after the moment had passed. She hated leaving Inez by herself especially when she was close to her time but she had to get back to take care of paperwork and Alex being the consummate professional detested incomplete case files for her patient. "I think Rain was going to come up some time this evening."

The women had been taking turns spending as much time with Inez during the last few days because of all the pressures she had been subjected to, with the untimely arrival of her mother and the general disapproval of the town engendered by every insult aimed by her. At this critical stage in her pregnancy, Alex had not been alarmist when she demanded that no further distress be afforded to Inez and her closest friends were ensuring that it was not.

"You don’t have to baby sit me you know." Inez remarked, perfectly aware what all these visits were about.

"No we don’t," Alex conceded. "But we are. Doctor’s orders."

"You’re just being over protective." She pointed out.

"I’ll remember that when its time to give you the morphine during labour." Alex replied with a smile of mischief. "Now, you have had a long day and at the risk of sounding over protective, I think you should get some rest. Mary left dinner on the stove, so you don’t have to worry about feeding the men when they get back. I think it’s some of that great stew she makes."

"Oh good," Inez replied, hating to admit it but Alex was right. She did felt drained and put her feet up when Alex stood up to leave. "Tell Mary thanks when you see her."

"I will." Alex nodded. "You’ll probably see her tomorrow anyway."

Inez appeared to look forward to it as she rested her head on the pillow and Alex took the time to make a discreet departure. She knew from her experience with a dozen mothers and more since her arrival in Four Corners that it was important for Inez to get some rest and approved when she saw the woman settling onto her new bed to get some sleep. As Alex closed the door behind her, she could smell the faint aroma of Mary’s cooking emanating from the kitchen and headed there first to move the pot of stew she had on the stove. Alex had heated it for Buck and JD when they arrived and move it off the stove to the kitchen table for their nourishment when they were done with their patrol of the homestead.

Giving the place a quick glance as she slipped on her coat, Alex felt some semblance of pride in seeing what she, Mary and Rain had managed to accomplish during the past two days in getting this home ready for Inez. She gathered the last of her things and did not bother to let Inez know she was leaving lest the woman was already asleep and Alex did not want to wake her up unnecessarily. Pulling the front door close behind her, Alex looked out into the night sky and saw no signs of life.

It was a beautiful place, she had to admit as her eyes surveyed the land before her. While the garden was a little sparse, requiring attention before it became green and flowery again, the surrounding fauna was just as breathtaking with a wealth of trees that offered enough shade without becoming dense. Alex could understand what Mary said about the property being idea for riding. Perhaps she might ask Inez permission for her and Vin to try the trails that supposedly ran through the trails when things had settled down a bit. After a moment of reflection on this, Alex mounted her horse Phoebe and started the ride back to Four Corners before it became too much later in the evening.

Her departure did not go unnoticed.

* * *

Buck Wilmington knew something was wrong.

While he could not say for certain what had led to this belief other than the stray sound he had heard earlier, Buck could not shake this feeling that there were not alone in the darkness as they made the ride back to the house. JD was naturally oblivious to the possibility as they rode back since the young man was chattering away about the things he usually did, unmindful to the presence of danger while very little of what he said had penetrated the fog of Buck’s suspicions that all was far from right.

Perhaps it was just natural for him to be so suspicious because things were finally where he wanted it to be in his life. He stood on poise on the edge of having the family he always wanted and was understandably cautious about losing it again. With things between himself and Inez so improved that he actually believed she truly wanted him beyond the requirements of a name for the baby, Buck was determined to let nothing happen to either mother or child. Still despite all these concerns, Buck still felt uneasy as he returned to the homestead. With a surprise, he realised that if he and Inez married, chances are this place that once was home to Mary and Steven Travis, would become his home too. It was a sobering experience to recognise the full circle he had come when he had first drifted into Four Corners.

Buck had arrived here a few days before Chris Larabee had made his fateful entry into town and had as much intention of staying in town as the gunslinger. It was odd how things worked out for all of them, how Four Corners seemed to have some mystical quality that made it home to the seven men who had been outcast everywhere else. It went some way to explaining why none of the seven had made any attempts to move on. It felt as if they were just as bound to Four Corner as they were to the fellowship of the seven.

Suddenly, the quiet of the night and JD’s chatter was eclipsed by the sounds of galloping horses in the distance. It was loud enough for both men to hear and they exchanged glances of realisation when they identified which direction the horses were going. They were heading towards the house and Buck realised with horror, Inez. Judging by the thunder of hoof beats, Buck estimated that they were a number of riders and felt his heart sink knowing that he had been right to be suspicious earlier because he had sensed someone watching them in the dark.

"Come on!" Buck called out as he dug his heels into the side of his horse and set the animal off on a hasty gallop.

NO sooner than he had given that order, there was the explosion of gunfire around them. The darkness and the process of riding forward blinded them to the direction of the bullets but Buck was knocked off his horse when he felt a hot, stinging pain against his cheek. The heat of the bullet was enough to dislodge him from his saddle and he tumbled into the dirt, hearing JD scream after him in the chaos that followed.

"Buck!" The youth shouted as he pulled the reins of his horse and tried to circle back towards Buck, whom he could see shrinking behind him as his mount moved ahead and tried to obey the confusion of signals he was giving it.

Buck felt dirt in his mouth as he landed and his body ached from the fall but he had compensated for the landing before he hit the ground and did not serious injury to himself. Although his skin stung and he felt the warmth of blood on his cheek, he knew he was not seriously injured. Whoever had fired at him was intending to kill him and Buck knew he had to get to his feet before they reached him. He could feel the tremor of horses nearing him and knew that one of those was JD. Painfully, he pushed himself to his feet and saw the kid approaching him quickly, when suddenly riders appeared out of the trees and converged upon him.

As Buck got to his feet and tried to help JD, he heard the scuffling and the flying of fists. He reached for his gun when a bullet whizzed past his ear from a completely different direction. Swinging around, he saw another rider coming up on him fast, releasing a series of bullets he had little or no chance of avoiding unless he ran. As the gunfire drove him into the darkness, he felt a swell of anguish surfacing inside him at being unable to help JD who was being overwhelmed by a number of attackers. Unfortunately, his would be killer had no intention of allowing Buck a chance to escape and Buck found himself running for cover within the trees as the enemy bore down on him.

The darkness made it difficult to see and Buck was pushing branches and watching for the uneven protrusions on the ground as he tried to gain enough distance between himself and the rider to launch an attack of his own. His heart was pounding in fear, not for himself but for JD whom he had been unable to help and for Inez, whom these men would go after if he did not stop them here. He tried to look over his shoulder to see who it was that was bearing down on him, promising death if Buck allowed them to get close enough, but could see nothing through the darkness. All he could see was the man’s horse, nostrils flaring with its heavy breath as it thundered after him.

Buck did not know how far he ran, aware only that after awhile, he could feel his lungs starting to give up as his attempts to escape faltered. He came to a screeching halt when he came to the edge of an embankment that led into the creek that ran through the property. Buck paused, knowing that if he went through the waterway, it was going to slow him down even further. He turned to change direction when he saw the rider break through the bushes. Buck raised his gun to fire and was about to pull the trigger when his pursuer spoke.

"Senor Wilmington," the voice spoke with a definitive Spanish accent that was of no surprise to Buck upon hearing it. "I have a message for you."

"Give it to me in hell." Buck retorted and pulled the trigger, taking a gamble on a desperate plan and hope he was alive to regret it if it failed.

The horse he was riding jerked back abruptly at the sound of Buck’s gun and pulled back just far enough to save its master from the bullet that would have otherwise killed him. Buck was not surprised by the outcome and knew what was coming almost as if the enemy had seen the plan formulating inside his head. The man did not waste his breath attempting to give Buck his message and returned fire immediately.

At the sound of gunfire, Buck twisted and felt the bullet slam into his shoulder instead of his heart like it was meant to. He crumbled to his knees intentionally, allowing his body to spill over the edge of the embankment and tumble down the hill like a rolling stone. As he began his rough and turbulent descent, he could feel the white hot agony of his shoulder mask the tearing of grit and pebbles against his skin as he reached the bottom of the hill. He came to a hard stop against the ground; taking a face full of dirt and biting down on his teeth to control the pain that came with the sudden impact. Fortunately, the injury though painful was not intolerable and Buck hoped that he could play the part required to create the illusion of death. Even as he lay against the groan, trying to recoup his bearings without giving his true state of health away, Buck could hear the uneven clacking of hoof beats approaching.

Remaining absolutely still because his life depended on it, Buck made certain he landed on his back. He could feel the warmth of blood oozing out of the wound on his shoulder, soiling his clothes the most profusely he bled, until the crimson stain of blood spread over his chest although in the dark, it could only be seen as a glimmer of slickness on his clothes. He hoped it was enough to convince the enemy to withdraw or at least dismount his animal to make a closer investigation. With either case, it was Buck’s only way of getting an upper hand. Playing possum was not the most dignified way to handle things; he recognised the irony of it but decided he had little choice.

Just because he had heard no gunshots did not mean JD Dunne was not dead. Buck had been a lawman in Four Corners and other places in the Territory to know that there were men who could kill just as effectively with their hands as their weapons. Chris Larabee was one of these. He held his breath and made no movement as he remained lying motionless in the crook between slope and land, feeling his heart pounding so loud Buck almost thought it might betray him to the man on the horse. He heard the horse approach the edge of the embankment because stray bits of earth slid down the slope as the weight of the animal loosened them. The horse made a slight whinny as its rider leaned over and spent a few seconds watching Buck’s unmoving form, attempting to discern if there was any life left remaining in his body.

Suddenly the man spoke once more, breaking the quiet of the night with his gravelly voice. "I was meant to give you this message while you still alive Senor Wilmington," he said. "I suppose this is not mean to be."

Buck did not react, wondering what was so damned important that it had to be delivered even to a dead man.

"I think I prefer it this way," the man continued with his strange eulogy. "You are much less trouble this way." He paused a moment as if recounting accurately what needed to be said and then spoke once more. "I gave my word to Alejandro that I would make this declaration to you Senor Wilmington and a man of honour keeps his words."

Buck tried not to blanch at that statement or the fact that honour had very little to do with ambushing two men in the dark and terrorising a woman with child, however, he kept silent because everything depended on his assailant believing he was indeed dead. Besides, there was also a part of him that was curious as to the nature of this message that was so vital to his hearing before death but was now being related in his supposed demise.

"I am to tell you Senor that your woman will join in the afterlife soon enough and that you will have the pleasure of knowing that your child will be allowed to live in the house of Don Paulo and will come to call my patron father. You will be nothing to your child. It will not know only that its mother has died and that its father is Alejandro Paulo. You will not exist for it."

Buck could not see the smile on the man’s face as he made his final statement but the lawman could well imagine it. "The Don considers this ample payment for the death of his only son."

It took a supreme effort for Buck to remain silent, knowing that any reaction would serve no one even though the plan unveiled to him sounded monstrous in its intent. It could only have come from a mind twisted out of shape with so much anger that Buck could hardly imagine it. He had thought Ella Gaines was insanity personified after what she had done to Sarah and Adam but the idea of using a child as an instrument of revenge every day of its life was something Buck could not fathom. If anything strengthen his resolve to remain still so he could escape, it was knowing this. Buck would endure anything to circumvent this terrible destiny for his child.

After what felt an eternity to Buck, the rider finally pulled away from the edge, freeing more dirt which eventually made its way downhill before coming to a halt by the obstruction of his form. Buck heard the horse moving away, straining to listen as its hoof beats grew more distant as it departed, until the resonance no longer sounded in the earth. When Buck was certain the danger had passed for the moment at least, he got up shakily to his feet and peered to the top of the hill to make certain with his eyes what his ears had more or less confirmed with more accuracy. For the moment, it seemed he was alone but somehow, it did not mean the situation was any better.

He could not see very well in the darkness but knew that the bullet, which entered his shoulder so painfully, had passed straight through flesh and muscle. The pain was not excruciating but he was not about to be pig headed and claim that it did not hurt at all because it did. His left side felt heavy and ached terribly but Buck was grateful that it was not his shooting arm that had been injured because he was going to need it if he was to get to Inez. Nothing else mattered as Buck scrambled up the hill, biting down each time he felt waves of pain stabbing at him whenever he exerted any use of his arm. He knew he needed tending to immediately but could not bring himself to admit it as he clawed his way up the dirt, leaving a bloody trail in the earth as he struggled to reach the top of the embankment.

As he tried to gain a foothold in the sloping terrain, his nails tearing as he clawed dirt and hard rock, Buck fought the voice of reason whispering in his ears against the wail of impulse that was driving him to reach Inez before it was too late. Buck ignored it, carried away by his emotions even though he knew perfectly well that he was injured and only one man against at least half a dozen, if his estimation of how many riders was correct when he saw them converge on JD. If he had any sense at all he would be abandoning this idea of reaching Inez because the odds of being any help to her in his present condition were slim. Instead, he ought to be searching for his horse and riding into Four Corners, not only to get himself medical aid but also to rally Ezra, Nathan and Josiah to ride into the fray with him. It made sense and it was the safest course of action.

Except he could not.

It might be a fool’s errand but he was not going to simply abandon Inez to those men for his own safety. He loved her too much and was not about to leave her to languish not even for a minute. Buck knew with utter certainty that he could not let the monstrous revenge planned by Don Paulo come to pass, even if it mean sacrificing his own life.

* * *

Inez heard a gunshot.

The sound woke her up immediately. She sat up in her bed, feeling her body protest at the sudden movement as she roused from her sleep completely aware of everything around her. She strained to listen again for the noise and began to doubt hearing it when the sound did not repeat itself. There was a brief moment when she considered that perhaps she had been dreaming and the noise, which had awoke her so abruptly, was nothing more than a residue of something in the dreamscape, dissolving into nothingness upon her return to the waking world. Yet the tension in her bones had not been dissipated and she could not shake the feeling there was something amiss

She wondered then, where Buck and JD were. It was well past dark outside her window and thought they should have been here by now. The property was not small but it was hardly large enough to warrant so much time in patrolling its boundaries. She followed the scent of stew that Alex had warmed up in the kitchen and saw the pot sitting on the table. It was still warm but considerably less than what it was because Inez had remembered when Alex had heated it up for the boys. Inez wished she were not in such an awkward state of health. Being heavily pregnant was not making movement any easier and it only increased her concern because if there were danger, she would be in no position to do anything about it.

Inez left the kitchen and found herself next to the sofa that had come to her compliments of Julia Pemberton. She sat on the soft cushion of the chair, feeling a wave of warmth for the Emporium owner who had presented her with this offering through Ezra as an apology for her absence during this time. With its polished wooden finish and soft fabric that seemed to make Inez’s hand glide over it upon touch, it was a gift she would not have been able to afford for some time and made a note to thank Julia when she saw her next. Nestling comfortably into the chair, she watched the soft cackle of fire in the fireplace, noticing that she would have to add more wood or else it would burn out. She turned her attention to one of the boxes packed with her things that Buck had left on the seat next to her. Giving herself something to do so she would not worry, she rummaged through its contents with a mission to organising it.

She was no more into this endeavour for a few seconds when she heard horses coming to the house and realised after a moment that there were more than two riders. Inez rose to her feet slowly, unable to discern whether or not she ought to go outside. On one hand, it could be perfectly feasible that the others might have joined Buck and JD but that would mean Josiah, Nathan and Ezra had left her mother and sister unguarded, which seemed unlikely. She supposed it could be Chris and Vin joining them and then recanted because she better than anyone, knew just how long it took to reach Val Verde and they would not have returned from the trip yet, even if they rode back to Four Corners like the wind. In the flurry of seconds that passed as these thoughts ran through her head, Inez finally came to the conclusion that she ought to withdraw into the bedroom.

Returning to the darkness of the bedroom, Inez hid behind the door as she strained to listen for the sounds of horses coming to a halt outside her home. While the animals were vocal, its riders were not and more or less confirmed that there was danger. Inez felt her heart pounding as the fear snaked up her spine like white-hot tendrils. Never in her life had she felt so vulnerable and she had no idea what to do. Drawing away from the door, she looked at the window and knew that was her only way of escape as the noises outside evolved into footsteps at the door. She crossed the floor silently, mostly because she was so huge that speed was not possible. By the time she reached the window, she could hear them coming through the door.

Inez opened the window and was trying to climb through when she heard men entering her house and instructed by one voice, thick with an accent she knew all to well, to search the premises. Blind panic struck her as she pushed herself over the windowsill in a bid to flee when suddenly the voice spoke once again.

"Senorita Recillos," the male voice echoed throughout the house and Inez froze. They had not reached the bedroom yet but assumed they would in a number of seconds. Inez continued to escape when the speaker resumed. "If you do not come out, I will kill the boy."

Inez froze. The boy? Did he mean JD? Where was Buck?

"I have him here Inez," the man continued. "I will put a bullet in the brain of this young sherrif if you do not show yourself."

Inez let out a soft cry of frustration knowing she could not leave, not if they had JD and somehow, it was too big a bluff for them to be lying. She debated what to do for the eternity of seconds following that announcement. Despite the danger to herself, Inez needed to know what had happened to Buck. He would not have let JD be taken for any reason and inched toward the unimaginable as she started to realise how something like that could happen.

"I promise you as a man of honour," he spoke further. "That if you show yourself that neither your or this boy will be harmed."

Inez felt the spirit drain from her as her hand dropped to her swollen belly and she made this decision not only for herself but the life inside of her. She hoped she was not condemning her little baby to death but she could not sit by and let these men kill JD Dunne. JD was her friend and she cared for him deeply, too much that she could ever forgive herself if he was killed because of her. Taking a deep breath, she climbed back into the bedroom and made herself cross the floor towards the door.

She emerged into the common room of the house to see at least six men in her house, two of which holding an unconscious JD Dunne in their arms. The boy’s face was covered in a dark bruise above his eye and there was a rivulet of blood created a line of red from under his hair down his cheek. There was no sign of Buck and that tightened Inez’s heart inside her chest with its implication. She found herself on the edge of some dark and terrible news to which she did not want to know but felt compelled to hear.

"I am here." Inez declared as she appeared in the open. "Let him go and I will go with you wherever you wish." She said softly, trying to hide just how frightened she was by a false front of bravado.

"I’m afraid that will be impossible," the man replied and whom she recognised to be Ramirez one of Don Alejandro Paulo’s most devoted servants. "The boy comes with us as insurance, lest you decide to make any foolish attempts at escape during our return to Val Verde."

Inez swallowed and more or less expected it would not be that simple but there was one other question she simply had to ask. "Where is Buck?" She inquired, her voice trembling because she already knew and the knowledge was threatening to break her into a thousand pieces if she heard it out loud.

"He’s dead." Ramirez said without emotion.

"No." Inez whispered, refusing to believe it even though everything that had transpired in the last few minutes would indicate so. "I don’t believe you."

"I shot him myself," Ramirez retorted, motioning his men to surround Inez because it was time to leave. "I left his body lying in the dirt. If it makes you feel any better, he did not suffer."

Buck dead? Inez felt the air emptying out of the room and she was suffocating. Her mind could not accept it and her heart was breaking where she stood. She tried to picture him in her head and could only see a terrible image of his body in the dirt, broken and bloody, looking nothing like the man she had loved for so long. The sounds that came from the depth of her and escaped her lips in a wail of anguish seemed distant and Inez did not know that she had dropped to her knees, weeping out loud until hands wrapped themselves around her arms and pulled her to her feet.

She was crying harder now, almost incoherent in her grief but not at all hysterical. Ramirez watched the sorrow in his eyes and felt himself affected by it despite his attempts to harden his heart. It was finally relieve when the burden of her pain became too much for her and he saw her go limp in the arms of his men, having fainted from the sheer distress of the knowledge she now carried inside of her.

"It’s just as well," he told the men holding the unconscious woman. "Tell Esteban to bring the wagon around and put them both in. We should get out of here as soon as possible."

* * *

Alexandra Styles told herself this was foolishness as she rode back to the Travis homestead. She had put some distance between herself and the property in her endeavour to reach town when she had heard the sound of what she was certain to be a gunshot. However, there was no sound of return fire and unknown to her, the same question that had plagued Inez Recillos, did their worst upon her as she tried to discern whether or not what she had heard was worth returning to investigate. Finally, her curious nature got the better of her and she forced Phoebe around and started riding towards the property once again.

She had not gotten very far down the track when suddenly she heard the rumble of horses coming in her direction. Alex did not know what compelled her to her next action but it was borne out of a sixth sense she had used to save many lives, sometimes her own and decided not to argue with it. Driving Phoebe off the road, Alex and her horse took refuge within the thick leaves and foliage flanking the path and waited as the thunder of riders hurried towards them at juggernaut pace. She wondered if she was being paranoid but then Vin had told her a dozen times that the Territory was not a place for a woman especially alone and at night. It was probably prudent that she conceal herself until she was certain that there was no danger.

Alex held her breath as the riders came past her. She could see little of them in the cover of leaves and branches and was glad that the same held sway for them as well. There were at least six of them and she heard the familiar rumble of wagon moving past at full gallop as they roared past her. Dust and grit flew in all directions as they raced past and Alex was glad when they were finally far enough away for her to be able to breathe again. If she was certain their intentions had been ominous before, she was almost sure of it now and nudged her horse out of her hiding place once she was certain it was safe. The road bore the signs of their convoy but of the riders themselves, she saw no signs and guessed their speed had taken them far enough away to keep from being a threat to her.

Upon making this evaluation, Alex dug her heels into Phoebe’s sides and sent the horse galloping forward towards the direction of Inez’s new home. Uncertain what motivated her, Alex could feel a deep sense of urgency pressing against the walls of her heart as she rode back as fast as she could to the homestead. She was not the best rider and had to hang on tight to ensure she did not take a nasty spill during the journey but her worry for her patient had escalated into fear for her friend. Suddenly, Alex could no longer dismiss the gunshot she had heard as being anything but related to the group of riders or their hasty departure.

She reached the homestead a short time later and saw no signs of life as she dismounted Phoebe when the animal reached the house. The front door was wide open and strengthened Alex’s fear as she hurried up the walk. Somehow she knew that whatever had taken place, violent or not had already concluded and that was no remaining danger to give her pause. She entered the house and went immediately to Inez’s bedroom and was unsurprised to find the lady absent. Emerging from the bedroom after that initial discovery, she saw no signs of violence other than that open door but it was enough.

Suddenly she heard footsteps outside and wondered if it was those men coming back. Alex fought the compulsion to run and then told herself that it was not logical, she had seen them leave. At least she thought it was them who had caused this. Besides, the footsteps beyond the doorway did not seem numerous and she might still be able to get away if she was smart. Of course, if things  _did_  end badly then she had the solace of being dead and not hearing Vin being most upset at her for not hightailing it out of there when she should have.

Taking ginger steps towards the front door and to the source of the footsteps, Alex peered past the doorway cautiously, poised to slam the door in someone’s face if he proved to be a danger to her. Finally the figure moving in the dark towards her shed its cloak of mystery when as the illumination from the lamps in the house cast its glow upon him.

"Buck!" Alex exclaimed and burst through the door once she saw the familiar sight of the tall man coming towards the house. He did not answer her and she was almost upon him when she saw the glimmer of wet on his shirt and realised from sheer experience what that moisture was. "You’re hurt!"

"It’s not bad," he groaned as she narrowed the space between them in a second, her physician senses taking over immediately. "Where’s Inez?" He asked.

"Gone." Alex answered as she saw the wound in his shoulder and the state he was in. Covered in dirt, his face had scratches and cuts while his clothes were similarly dishevelled. However, it was the injury that held most of her attention as she tried to explain what had happened to prompt her return. "I heard a gunshot and I headed back." She explained as she tried to look under his shirt at the wound. "As I was coming down the track, I heard these horses and I guess it sounded suspicious to me for some reason because I got off the road."

"Good call," Buck grimaced as he felt her lift the soiled fabric of his shirt from wound in her examination. "They ambushed me and JD." Buck explained his side of things as they reached the house. "I think they took JD alive but the fella who came after me, was aiming to kill. I manage to trick him into believing he did just that and played possum until he had gone."

Alex nodded in understanding and decided that action had most likely saved the man’s life. They entered the house and Alex led Buck to a chair and forced him to sit even though he was more determined to seek out Inez for himself, as if Alex’s words were not enough confirmation at his future wife’s absence. "I saw at least six riders," Alex informed him as she pulled his coat off his shoulders and started working on the buttons. "There was also a wagon. If those were the same men that took Inez than I’d say that’s what they moved her in. Once they were past me, I got back here and found that Inez was gone. I haven’t been here that long until you turned up."

"I’ve got to get going after her." Buck said rising to his feet when Alex pushed him down on the chair in protest.

"Buck, you’re in no shape to do anything!" Alex retorted firmly. Although her preliminary examinations had indicated that the bullet had passed straight through his shoulder, it did not mean that he was out of danger. He had lost a lot of blood even though bleeding had now stopped, not to mention there was gapping hole in his skin that needed mending not aggravation at this immediate moment. "You go after Inez in this condition and you will be no help to her."

"You know what that son of bitch has planned!" Buck shouted. "He’s going to kill her and take our child for his own!"

Alex felt her stomach hollow at the monstrosity of the plot but found no surprise in just how heinous some men could be when properly motivated. "Buck think this through," Alex replied as she stepped away from him. She could nothing more for him without her medical bag, which was securely fastened to Phoebe and needed to be retrieved, before she could do anything else. However, she did not want him running off while she went to get it. "There is six of them and one of you and as passionate as you are on the subject, you cannot take those men on your own. You know where they’re going so an hour for me to fix you up and ride into town to get the others won’t make that much difference, will it?" She looked at him critically, demanding him to say it out loud before she knew he would obey her on this.

"No," he said reluctantly. She was right. As much as he loathed to admit it, none of her arguments were new to him. These were all notions he had considered before and ignore because he was so determined to reach Inez. Finally, he conceded. "Do what you have to do," he glanced at his shoulder. "Patch me up because as soon as you’re done, I’m going to get her back."

* * *

"Glad you could join us." Josiah said to Ezra as the three men sat around playing cards inside the church. Although it was somewhat sacrilegious to gamble in the house of the Lord, the preacher was inclined to believe that the Lord would not be too offended by the action, since they needed something to pass the time while protecting one of his flock. His comment was not at all laced with criticism since he understood that Ezra had very good reasons for his absence of late.

"Well an interlude had presented itself in the course of the personal undertaking that has been occupying my attention most recently." Ezra drawled easily as he threw his discards down on the table that they were all seated around.

"How is Miss Julia?" Nathan inquired, since they were all privy to Mr Clemens’ purpose in town. While Ezra had not told the others about the money Julia had stolen from her father, he did reveal that Julia was running from the trappings of a past life and did not wish to be found. While they did not know the specifics, every member of the seven knew what it was like to have secrets in their past that they did not wished unearth and thus respected Ezra’s desire not to go into detail.

"Edgy," Ezra replied honestly. "However, I have convinced her to remain in town for the moment. Mr Clemens leaves in three days time when the stage arrives and I am hoping that he will see his way to keeping her whereabouts a secret following his departure."

Somehow, Josiah did not believe the man would do that unless Ezra could impart to him a most compelling argument. However, if Josiah knew Ezra at all after all this time of their association, he knew the gambler could be extremely creative when the mood took him. He was certain Clemens would be convinced to forget all about Julia but he would be induced to do so under the sway of a very unorthodox method of persuasion.

"Can’t see why she just don’t tell her father that she’s got a life here." Nathan remarked as he motioned to Ezra who was playing the dealer as always, to give him to more cards in replacement for the ones he had just thrown on the pile gathering in the centre of the table.

"Some fathers do not take no for an answer." Josiah replied, completely aware of what it was like to have a strong filled paternal figure that was disposed to see their child’s life run a certain course and would not tolerate it going any other way.

"Just as some mothers do not forgive when it goes wrong." Ezra remarked, unconsciously glancing in the direction of the room currently occupied by Paloma and Calla.

The lady had stayed strangely out of their way during the last day or so, particularly after a visit from Audrey King. Josiah suspected that Audrey had given Paloma food for thought while at the same time creating a rift between herself and her daughter Calla. The young woman no longer blithely followed her mother’s wishes, determined to see Inez when time permitted as she had declared most strenuously to Josiah when Paloma had been hiding inside the rooms he normally resided.

"Yeah, it’s a damn shame, that’s what it is." Nathan found himself in agreement, wishing the situation between Inez and her mother was better than what it was. Inez had enough to worry about without having the entire weight of her mother’s moral fortitude bearing down on her for what happened. It was not as if the woman had not endured enough insults and hardships since news of her pregnancy spread around town. Having no remaining family himself, Nathan could not fathom the mentality that placed ideology above kin.

The three men continued with their game, paying little attention to the sound of a horse galloping hard through town and growing louder as it neared the building because the approach was nothing new. Numerous riders had occasion to pass by the building through the course of the day, on route to some other place that had little to do with the occupants of the church. None of the lawmen detracted from the card game until they realised the animal was not riding past the church but was instead coming towards it. They tensed inwardly, showing no signs of interest even though they were all listening carefully until they heard speech following the dismount by not one but two riders from the same animal and realised that and one of those belonged to Alex.

It was Josiah who reacted first, the bear like hulk of a man placing his cards face down before he stood up and seemed to tower over Ezra and Nathan with his shadow as he waited for the two to enter the room. While it was Alex’s voice they heard first, it was Buck who burst into the room ahead of the lady doctor. He was still wearing the blood stained shirt that immediately captured the attention of the friends who forgot all about their game as they hurried to meet him half way across the room. Following closely behind Buck was Alex, who was carrying her medical bag.

"We’ve got to get going!" Buck exclaimed as he entered the building and saw the trio.

"Buck take it easy," Alex warned, not wishing him to aggravate his injury any more than it already was. The ride back to town had been hair raising enough as it was without Buck’s anxiousness to rescue Inez driving him to further acts of recklessness. "You’re wounded."

"What’s happened?" Josiah asked even though it was self-evident.

"Six of those bastards ambushed me and JD while we were patrolling the place." Buck declared, feeling almost ashamed of what had happened and feeling especially guilty because he had to play possum to save his own skin. "They got the kid but I managed to get away even though one of them tried real hard to see to it that it didn’t happen." He only had to glance at his shoulder for them to understand what he meant by that. "By the time I got to the house Inez was gone and so was JD."

"I was on my way back to town when I heard the gunshot," Alex piped in, filling in the blanks for the rest of the story. "I saw six men and a wagon heading away from the homestead in a hurry. I think its safe to say that was how they moved Inez. If they wanted her alive, it was the only way she could travel safely." She pointed out.

"They wanted her alive all right," Buck grumbled. "That bastard who shot me said that Paulo wanted the baby."

"Wanted the baby?" Nathan exclaimed, unable to fathom for what reason. "Why?" He stared at Buck in confusion.

"Revenge." Ezra caught on faster than the healer did because he knew men and the evil machinations that were at work in some minds. "He wants your child as retribution for the one he lost." Ezra was guessing but when he saw Buck’s expression and the cold look in his eyes, he knew he was right.

"My god." Josiah found himself declaring in disgust. When it did not seem possible for men to slip further into the darkness, there always seemed to be one who would prove him wrong. He had heard of some awful things but this one shook him to the core and he knew with utter certainty that it had to be stopped.

"That’s what he told me." Buck nodded. "I was meant to die only after I knew that Paulo intends to kill Inez as soon as our child was born so he could raise it with no idea who its parents really were."

"There’s one other thing…" Alex had not dared to bring it up before but the thought had been gnawing at the back of her mind since learning about what the Don had planned for Inez. It was too horrible to even think of it and she had not wanted to entertain the possibility but since time was a factor here, she thought it best to bring up the idea no matter how obscene it was. At least Buck had people around him now that would keep him from doing anything foolish once she imparted her information to them. "Inez is very late in term. The child could be ready to be born at any minute. Whether now or two weeks really makes no difference."

"Oh Jesus Christ," Nathan exclaimed because as the only other healer here, he understood just as well as she did the implication she was alluding. He met Alex’s gaze and the look of dread that existed in her eyes soon filtered into his own. "He couldn’t." Nathan whispered.

"There is no reason for us to believe he wouldn’t." Alex said quietly.

"What?" Buck looked at them both, requiring an answer and knowing from the hollow sound of their voices that whatever they suspected was terrible indeed.

There were furious glances exchanged between Alex and Nathan as they searched the words to answer while deciding which of them would speak. Finally, it was Alex who responded. "He may not wait for the baby to be born." She answered reluctantly, her voice nothing more than a low whisper. "The baby at this stage of pregnancy is fully developed." She swallowed.

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!" Buck finally roared unable to see what Alex was trying so hard to say.

"She’s saying that if the Don is crazy enough, he may just cut her open and take the baby." Nathan blurted out, sparing Alex from trying to explain further, the unthinkable.

Buck’s face drained of colour. For a moment, he could not speak because the picture that formed in his mind at that possibility was so horrifying that he could not find the words to adequately describe it. Even Ezra who wore a perennial poker face had shed that facade of indifference and was similarly stunned while Josiah’s expression darkened to the colour of night. No one spoke as the words hung in the air, like pregnant drop of blood awaiting impact as it stood poised to fall.

"He could not do that! Its madness!" Paloma Recillos cried out, her voice filled with panic as she stood at the doorway between the back room and the main floor of the church. She had been attracted to the voices of the new arrivals and had emerged from her room long enough to hear the disturbing possibility of what Don Paulo had in store for her daughter.

Buck who had not met the woman prior to this turned to her, since it required no leap of logic to deduce her identity. "What do you care?" He asked as he glared at her. "She’s dead to you remember?" His voice was an angry hiss and it surprised everyone present to see the rage that bubbled behind his eyes. They were all accustomed to seeing Buck as the eternal optimist who felt malice towards no one who did not richly deserve it but his reaction had now surpassed anything they had ever witnessed from him previously.

"Mrs Recillos," Ezra said clearing this throat, thinking of nothing else to do on an occasion like this but make a belated introduction. "Buck Wilmington, your _future_ son in law."

"You have no right to speak to me that way!" Paloma retorted, feeling somewhat taken back by Buck’s angry response. "She is my daughter. I would not wish her any harm!"

"You’ve done enough harm!" Buck fairly screamed at her. "You and all those other sanctimonious, self righteous hypocrites that call yourselves god fearing folk! You make me sick to my stomach! You don’t stand beside her when it counts the most and now that she’s about to ripped open like a melon, now you feel something!"

"Buck…"Josiah tried to intercede, knowing he was being especially harsh on the woman who seemed almost as ashen as he did upon learning the possible fate Inez had waiting for her. "This ain’t the time."

"Stay out of it, Josiah." Buck warned, turning a menacing glare at the preacher that made Josiah withdraw immediately. "She’s got this coming." He retorted, his voice was cold and had the consistency of jagged glass as he turned his gaze back towards Paloma who could not speak because there was no denying her actions.

"What she did was wrong." Paloma recouped enough to respond after a moment.

"To who?" Buck demanded. "Was anyone hurt by the coming of a child?" He snapped. "The only one that suffered at all was your daughter because everyone felt a need to judge her. I expect that kind of thinking from strangers who don’t know her but from you? You’re her mother! You know as well as I do she’s the bravest woman that ever lived! She came here on her own, running from that bastard who killed anyone who gave a damn about her. She survived him and she made a life for herself here, you call her a whore because for one night, one solitary night…." His voice started to waver as the emotions that crept up and choked the sound from his throat threatened to overwhelm him completely.

Buck cleared his throat and began again after composing himself. "For one night, she showed me that I could be loved by someone like her and every day since then has been an awakening I have waited all my life to feel. I won’t lose her." He finally faltered. "I can’t lose her. Not even for a baby."

"You won’t Buck," Ezra said firmly, knowing precisely how Buck felt because his feelings corresponded in some way with what he was feeling for Julia and her own dilemma at present. The gambler squeezed Buck’s uninjured shoulder in support to convey that none of them would allow such a horrible fate to fall upon Inez. Each one of them would die before letting that happen. "We know where these men are going," he announced to Nathan and Josiah, taking the initiative because Buck was too close to this to think straight. "If we ride out immediately, we may be able to catch up to them. If not, Mr Larabee and Mr Tanner should already be in Val Verde and they will stop whatever nefarious plan Don Paulo has in store for Inez by the time we arrive."

"Right," Nathan nodded in agreement because Buck really needed to believe this right now. "You okay to ride with that shoulder?" He looked at his wounded friend even though he knew that even if Buck was not up to it, there was no way he would be staying behind.

"I’m fine." He nodded. "Let’s get going."

"Alex, can you let everyone know what’s happening?" Josiah asked, not clarifying that by everyone he meant the women who were often left behind when they departed town. There was little time to waste and certainly none allocated for long goodbyes.

"Of course." Alex nodded and then remarked. "Do you think Mrs Recillos and her daughter are still in danger?" She glanced at the woman who was lost in thought wearing that same look of desolation on her face after Buck’s rather incendiary words of accusation. In truth, she did not feel sorry for the woman and had inwardly applauded Buck for telling Paloma what he had. In the doctor’s opinion, Paloma Recillos deserved every sharp barb that Buck had delivered upon her.

"They have what they want," Buck said abruptly, not looking at the her as he spoke. "They got Inez, they don’t need anything else."

"I think Buck’s right," Josiah agreed and turned back to the woman, feeling some measure of compassion towards her because it was in his nature as a preacher to do so. "You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like ma’am but we have to go."

Paloma met his gaze and nodded. She did not look at Buck because she simply could not. His words had been brutal but unfortunately she could not refute anything he had said and it was obvious by the emotion in his voice how much he loved Inez. "Gracias." She said quietly.

In the meantime, Alex had taken Nathan aside long enough to offer the healer some instructions of her own. "Nathan I want you to take this." She handed the leather case to him.

"Miss Alex, I can take that. It’s your medical bag!" He insisted.

"Yes but you don’t have time to go get your stuff and you have to go straight away," she declared, accepting already that she could not accompany them on this venture as much as she wished she could. Although Alex was worried about Inez, she would be more a hindrance to the seven rather than an asset in their attempts to rescue Inez. If by definition, saving Inez’s life meant for her to stand down then she was just as compelled to do as she would if her medical skills were required. "If she does go into labour and we both know that is entirely possible, then you’re going to have to deliver the baby. Everything you need, including the morphine is in my bag. You’ll need it if she goes into labour."

Nathan nodded, having been a veteran of several deliveries to understand that even in the most routine birth, there could be complications and if Inez went into labour prematurely as it was likely to happen in light of everything she was going through, then he had to be ready. He took the handle of Alex’s bag and stated after a moment. "I know what this means to you." The healer said to her. The bag had been the same one carried by Alex’s father for almost a lifetime of globe trotting from one end of the world to another and Nathan knew that it was the most precious memento she had left of him. Nathan also knew what it meant for her to trust it to him and he was not about to disappoint her. "I’ll bring this back to you." He stated firmly and meant it.

"I know that," Alex offered him a smile of confidence because there was no one else she would entrust with this precious offering. "You take care of our patient." Alex reminded.

"I will." Nathan smiled faintly and looked at the others who were impatient to leave, particularly Buck.

As the lawmen started towards the door, Paloma Recillos found her voice. "Senor Wilmington!" She called out and halted their progress as they were about to pass the threshold of the church entrance and make the crossing into the night sky beyond the walls of the building.

Buck paused even though he did not wish to. In fact, he was still angry with her even though much of his anger was a product of the terrible fate in store for Inez if he did not reach her in time. Slowly, he turned around to face the woman who had given Inez so much pain since her arrival in town. His eyes were still glaring at her as she approached although the haughty expression of self-righteous defiance had faded from her face completely.

"Good luck," she said coming to Buck and surprised him when she placed a hand on his cheek. Her eyes brimmed with tears and Buck felt guilty that he had been so cross with her, particularly as he looked into her face and saw the intense regret that permeated from her soul he was certain. "Bring my daughter to home," she whispered. "Bring her back for both of us."

* * *

 

JD felt like he had a hangover, only this was much worse.

Aside from the pain that beating against the wall of his skull, he felt the rumble of movement beneath him and opened his eyes to see the world swirling above his head in a canvas of glittering stars. He tried to recount with concentrated effort as he lay on his side on an unfamiliar surface, what was the last conscious memory in his keeping before the blackness had taken him. It crowded on him in flashes, in snippets of images that made little sense at first until the pain dwindled into a pulsing and the memory drained into his head from some unknown part of his mind where such things were kept. 

He remembered hearing gunfire and saw Buck falling off his horse. JD had tried to reach his friend but the enemy had come out of nowhere, converging upon him like a murder of crows preparing to feed. They had not used weapons and it was very evident as their fists came flying at him that they were determined to take him alive. He felt incensed that he had not even managed to draw before they overwhelmed him and knocked him senseless. Everything after that had been a drop into a black pool where neither memory nor consciousness had been afforded to him.

Now as awareness returned to him with sharpening clarity, JD realised that he was moving, or rather the floor upon which he lay was in motion. Glancing at the sky above, he realised that he was in the back of an open wagon moving forward at high speed. He could hear the rumble of horses around him, as if they were providing him escort in his journey. JD tried to move his hands and found that they were bound. Somehow this did not surprise him. Understanding that he had been captured went a long way to curtailing his expectations of how much freedom he possessed. When he attempted to move his legs, he found himself similarly bound around his ankles and let out a groan of frustration at being trussed up like a fatted calf.

He experimented with trying to wriggle out of the ropes that kept his arms tied behind his back and found to his chagrin that whomever had tied the knots was very skilled at the practise because he could not even loosen the knots to make any headway towards freedom. JD wondered what happened to Buck and prayed that his friend had managed to escape and get help. Being helpless like this made JD remember just how young he was because more than ever he needed the experience to cope with his unfortunate situation instead of feeling the fear he now did.

The constant motion of the buckboard was hurting his head, which he knew to be the reason he had blacked out because the pain was not like a normal headache but thick and pulsing, unlike the usual throbbing of a morning sufferance after a night of vice. Shifting position, he swung his body so that he would be lying flat on his back when suddenly, he realised he was not alone. Startled at the sight of another person next to him, his eyes widened as he saw it was Inez. She was not unconscious because her eyes were open and she was staring into the sky, paying no attention to him.

"Inez." JD whispered.

She did not answer.

"Inez," JD tried again, wondering if they had done something awful to her that kept her from speaking.

She blinked and a tear rolled down the corners of her eyes and disappeared into her dark hair. She did not look at him even then.

"Inez, what’s wrong?" JD demanded, more unnerved by her manner than he was by the whole idea of their captivity.

"Buck’s dead." She whispered.

"What?" He exclaimed feeling as if he was being choked to death on her words. He could not imagine it, let alone believe such a thing but what he saw in her face told him that it had to be true. "He can’t be." He responded out of sheer defiance.

"He’s gone." She repeated in that toneless voice that frightened JD to no end because she sounded as if her mind had disappeared down a dark pit from which there was no return. "They killed him." She turned her head just enough to meet his gaze and more tears spilled down her face as she did.

"Inez, you don’t know that." JD insisted because she was slipping further and further away from him and what he said now would decide whether or not she could be brought back. There was apart of him that felt with more fortitude than he could ever explain, that Buck was alive and because youth made death harder to accept and he was grateful for that. For once he did not care, he would cling to the hope and he would make her cling to it too because she needed to believe even more than he did. Already, he could see the cloud in her eyes as she started the rapid descent into her sorrow.

"They saw his body." She answered, closing her eyes as she fought the urge to cry once again. "They saw him die."

"You didn’t see it did you?" JD countered, refusing to believe anything until he saw it with his own eyes because that was the only thing that kept his hope alive. JD needed that right now if he was going to get them out of this mess because there was one other thing that made it imperative for him to believe. If Buck was dead then no one knew they were here then he only had himself to rely upon to get them to safety. If Buck was truly dead then that was the least JD could do for his friend.

"No." She shook her head but her concession to that one point was half hearted. She may be saying the words but she did not believe it. "I didn’t see his body."

"Inez," JD said firmly. "I know he’s alive because nothing is going to make Buck Wilmington miss being around to seeing his baby born. You’ve got to believe that."

  
She did not answer until she faced forward again, that same listless tone to her voice when she spoke. "JD, you have to promise me something."

"Sure Inez," JD asked, feeling his heart strangle in his breast each time he heard her speak. There was something awful about her manner at this moment and he wished he had the words to make things right. He was starting to believe that if Buck were really dead, then nothing would ever reach her again.

"Whatever happens to me, you’ve got to make sure the baby is safe." She said with the first semblance of emotion entering her voice since JD had realised she was lying next to him.

"I’d do that anyway." JD retorted. "I wouldn’t let anything happen to either of you."

"That’s not what I asked." She shook her head in response. "You have to make sure that the baby is safe. I don’t want you to think about me at all."

"Inez…" JD started to say when Inez interrupted.

"JD," she looked sideways and met his eyes. "He told me what the Don intends to do when we get to Val Verde. They’re going to cut me open and take my baby. He’s going to raise Buck’s child and mine to replace the son we took from him." As the revulsion seeped into JD’s face, Inez forced herself to continue. "I don’t care if I live or die but you cannot let that happen."

JD nodded because he did not know what else to do. "I promise you Inez," he whispered, understanding why she was like this now. "I promise you that he will never get his hands on your baby."

Inez offered him something of a smile because that was enough. If JD made the promise then she would believe him because the youth was noble and honest enough to give his life to fulfil a vow like this. "Gracias." She replied and faced front again.

JD watched her and prayed to God for the first time in too long for help because they had to escape before he was required to make good on that promise.

 


	7. Val Verde

 

Despite the pall of gloom that had befallen the village with the deteriorating health of the Don who was patron to most people in the community, Val Verde was generally prospering. The growing season had been good and the harvest kept everyone fed with much to spare. Unlike most border towns that seemed to run rife with bandits and others outlaws from across the US, Val Verde seemed experience a minimum of such incursions. The bad element, if such a thing could be found in the village, was mostly confined to a cantina on the outskirts of the town, away from the main population.

Upon their discreet arrival into Val Verde, Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner kept their movements to the cantina in question, aware from what Maria had told them about there being at least one resident of town who had spent enough time in Four Corners to know who they were. Their inquiries had been restricted mostly to what they could glean as unobtrusively as possible from conversations with the locals and their unnoticed eavesdropping of the gossips that always seemed to be a staple of such establishments. Chris, who understood Spanish better than he spoke it, relied upon Vin to do most of the conversing, since the tracker was quite adept at the language and several others, including numerous Indian dialects.

What they had managed to ascertain from this meagre source of information was enough to concern both men to continue their stay in Val Verde. Two gringos as the locals referred to them, were not unusual inhabitants of the dingy rooms above the cantina since many outlaws from the States tended to use these Mexican towns as a refuge until they were able to cross the border once again. Chris and Vin were naturally assumed to be one of those and therefore were left alone by most of the cantina’s patrons.

From this obscure vantagepoint, they had learnt that Don Alejandro Paulo, father to Stefano who had made his fateful arrival in Four Corners nearly two years ago, was ailing. In his day, Paulo had been a fair man, forthright but tough as all men in positions of power tended to become over the years. People respected him, a large number held him in some reverence although most were saddened by the man’s rapid decline since the death of his only son. The younger Don Paulo was not held in the same esteem as his father and what Chris and Vin had managed to learn about the man indicated that no one was particularly upset at the news of his death except his father.

There was also talk about how Paloma Recillos, long time resident had fled and speculation ran rife about where she and her daughter Calla had disappeared. Chris and Vin listened without comment as drunken villagers whom owed the finance of their inebriation to the lawmen revealed in a quiet whisper to the strangers who could not possibly have any interest in talk that the Don was responsible for the hasty departure of the Recillos women. Always cursed with beautiful women and bad luck, one of them was none to say, starting with the oldest girl Inez. However, it was how vocal the Don was about taking vengeance that captured Chris and Vin’s attention the most.

Although everyone knew otherwise, the Don now believed that it was Inez who had shed first blood when she attacked Stefano for no good reason and fled the town, stealing a horse. With this illusion firmly in place, the villagers were aware that the Don’s trusted men had been sent out of town almost a week ago which escalated the two lawmen’s alarm to no end. It appeared that the man had a very clear strategy in place and may have sent his henchman to Four Corners. Still it disturbed Chris that if those men were in Four Corners for nearly a week, why had no action been taken against Inez. While Chris was glad that it had not, that piece of information nagged at him because it implied the evidence of a plan that he could not decipher or guard against.

Vin had taken permanent position around the Don’s sprawling residence following the news that his men had left Val Verde for some days. The villa and its grounds were surrounded by high canyon walls and probably chosen for his defensible position. While the walls were too high to be of an effective range to a sharpshooter, they did provide an adequate lookout point as to what was transpiring inside the stone walls of the Don’s estate. Vin saw at least five men with guns, while the rest of the residents seemed to be household staff and grounds keepers. He assumed the frail old man who emerged on occasion to throw orders around those under his employment to be Don Alejandro Paulo. He had been a tall man with good stature once but his dark hair had become completely grey and his face had withered to indicate that he had seen too much of hardship and been twisted out of shape from it. He did not look slight like his son, nor was he preened with as much ornate clothing. Seeing him made Vin realise just how much losing a child could change a person because he could well imagine the man before him to be the fair and honest patron the village still wished him to be.

Vin did not know how much longer they ought to remain here because Chris was torn between getting back to Four Corners and still trying to learn more about the Don’s plans. With a number of Alejandro’s men in Four Corners, laying in wait for the opportune moment to strike, the leader of the seven was naturally anxious, caught between the dilemma of trusting his friends to handle themselves and needing to take charge personally. Until Chris made that decision, Vin opted to remain in quiet surveillance. So far, no one had even detected his presence yet although for Vin that was nothing new.

Tracking animals and men had taught him how to fade into the background and he knew this need not to be noticed had permeated into his relationships with people as well. Vin had trouble with relating to men and women alike and tended to shy away from people. He liked being ignored and could only seem comfortable in a crowd of no one noticed him. Before Alex, the most horrifying word in his vocabulary was the word dance. Only the women he cared for deeply could incite him to emerge from his cocoon to take part in such an open exhibition of presence. He had danced once for Charlotte and taken Alex during that first night they spent together and Vin had been so in love with the doctor at that point he was willing to endure anything to win her. With a secret smile he knew she would understand all too well, that night he had done that and  _more_.

Snapping his attention to the moment because thinking about Alex in a situation like this was the surest way to get himself killed, Vin continued his observations well into the late morning. He was about to withdraw and return to Chris to see if the gunslinger had come to a decision on what they would do, when he saw a group of riders and a wagon rumbling up the path that led to the gates of the Don’s walled fence. Out of sheer curiosity for what lay beneath the canvas covering the wagon, Vin lingered to see if it would be removed. If not for the fact that the wagon was escorted by men who did not look like they farmed for a living, Vin would not have bothered. However the men appeared to have ridden some distance and the weapons they were carrying indicated they were definitely professional gunmen.

Instead of taking the wagon to the stable, the transport was sent directly to the main house and any household or ground staff presented at the time was banished elsewhere in the sprawling estate, adding to Vin’s growing apprehension that something ominous was looming in the horizon. Following the exile of his staff from the immediate vicinity, the Don emerge to greet his men, barking orders that Vin could barely make out as instructions to remove the canvas that concealed the contents of the wagon. When they had carried out the request, Vin’s breath caught because he hated it when his instincts proved right about trouble.

  
The familiar face he spied was that of JD Dunne, bound hand and foot as he was pulled to the edge of the wagon by his captors. His legs were freed prior to his disembarkation from the carriage and his appearance gave Vin a shudder of concern as the tracker spied a line of red running down the side of the young man’s head as well as an ugly bruise under his eye. The kid was holding up pretty well considering he was surrounded on all sides and did seem apparent as if help was going to come any time soon. As he was forced towards the house, Vin noticed that JD kept glancing anxiously over his shoulder at the back tray of the wagon until he was shoved rather forcefully to keep his eyes ahead. Vin wondered what JD was so fixated upon until he saw the rest of the Don’s men approaching the rear of the wagon to remove their second prisoner and understood completely what had worried JD so much.

Inez.

While she was not tied up, she was probably in more danger than JD if what Chris suspected about the Don’s intentions was true. The idea had been so repellent to the gunslinger that he had made light of his conclusion to no one except Vin who had been present at time of his rumination. Chris had hoped he was wrong but the act of bringing back Inez all this way seemed to confirm his speculation. However, something else caught the tracker’s notice and his puzzlement over this was not easily answered.

Even from this distance, there was something about Inez’s manner as she was led into the house a few steps behind JD, that gave Vin concern. He knew her well enough to know that she was the most spirited creature that he had ever met, even more than Alex who only went volcanic on him after extreme provocation. On the other hand, Inez was so fiery and did not require much to stab her temper into full vent. However at this moment, she seemed very devoid of that usual spark as she was being escorted by the Don’s men. If Vin did not know better, he would say she had given but knew that there was no way the Inez he knew, would do that willingly.

Whatever had her caused to become so defeated was a question that Vin would have to save for later because he had seen enough. With a dozen men guarding the prisoners, not to mention the ground keepers who could probably manage a gun if the situation called for it, the two lawmen were looking at a large opposition if they were even considering the idea of going after Inez and JD on their own. Vin had to assume that Buck and the others were on their way by now but who knew how long Inez and JD had before the Don carried out his revenge? Chris would be unwilling to wait for their arrival even though it was the prudent course of action. Deciding that he could do no more here at present, Vin had no choice but to head back to the cantina and hoped Chris had some kind of plan because Vin sure did not.

* * *

Buck Wilmington said nothing as he and the remaining members of the seven narrowed the gap between themselves and their quarry. While slightly hindered by the absence of Vin Tanner’s tracking skill, there was no real delay in their progress across the border because it was a forgone conclusion where the men who had kidnapped Inez and JD were going. The village of Val Verde was less than an hours ride away since the lawmen having made good time because they were not held back by a wagon and had ridden hard throughout most of the night to keep pace with the kidnappers. As the sun continued its gradual ascent across the sky towards noon, Buck estimated that they would arrive shortly after or before that time of the day.

Ezra, Josiah and Nathan made no attempt to speak to the man because their earlier efforts had been rewarded with a monosyllabic response that deterred further conversation. Of course, they all understood the reason for the silence even if they were somewhat taken back by it. Buck could always be counted upon to make any trip lively, no matter how dire the situation. Seeing him so focussed and sullen gave rise to their concern for him over how his mind would take it if they were too late to save Inez.

During the journey when they had stopped to rest the horses, Ezra had approached Nathan and discussed the situation with Julia. Knowing that Nathan could be relied upon to keep the strictest confidence; Ezra took the opportunity to speak to the healer about the subject when they were alone. The animals had been driven hard during the ride to Val Verde and needed a short period of rest before they could be expected to continue the trip. Deciding that Buck needed some space to breathe, Ezra and Nathan had volunteered to feed the horses while Josiah kept a close watch on Buck by taking him into the eatery at the small way station at which they chosen to stop. A sound mind needed a sound body, Josiah had stated in his argument when he led Buck away.

"Mr Jackson, I have a highly delicate question to ask for you." Ezra finally brought himself to ask after deliberating upon whether or not he would bring up this subject with the healer.

"What sort of question?" Nathan looked at the gambler because there was very little in Ezra’s nature that did not have to do with money and that was a subject he had more expertise than Nathan ever would.

"Consider it a medical query." Ezra cleared his throat as he placed the feedbag over Chaucer’s neck and let the animal indulge himself.

"I’m a doctor in training," Nathan said with a smile. "As Miss Alex always says, everything in the strictest confidence. It’s an oath." Besides, he could this tell that this was difficult for Ezra to broach with him and did not want to make the man any more uncomfortable.

"That is good to know because what I am about to bring forward, I do so only because I know nothing about the subject and I feel that I should make myself aware in light of certain revelations that were made to me recently. Fortunately, it has never happened to me so I do not how to proceed."

Now Nathan was not only burning with curiosity but actually quite concerned that Ezra was trying to deal with some terrible medical condition on behalf of someone who should be seeking help themselves. "Go on Ezra, let me help."

Ezra wondered whether Nathan knew how much those words went to convincing his patients that he was someone who could help them. It had even more weight than his proven skill. When spoken by Nathan, it did not seem obligatory or trite and Ezra suddenly felt a great deal of comfort knowing that he could turn to Nathan for help in this matter. "What do you know about child molestation?" He asked quietly, feeling dirty just referring to that term.

Nathan’s expression darkened upon hearing that and he stared at Ezra for a moment, trying to decide whether or not the gambler was asking for himself. Finally, he responded unable to make the determination. "I’ve read some about it." He admitted. "There ain’t much documented though. It’s not something folks like bringing up and the few cases that are reported are usually done on the quiet where the law and the family could forget about it. Of course, we know that some whoremaster’s trade in children but no peacekeeper would put up with such a practice in their town. Its one thing to have a cat house with consenting adults but with children?" The disgust in his face showed. "Back when we were slaves, it happened a lot but then nobody gave a damn."

Ezra nodded and then remarked. "But these nefarious acts not always perpetrated by a stranger. I assume that it is sometime committed by a family member?"

"Most of the time that is exactly how it happens." Nathan confirmed Ezra’s worst suspicions. When Julia had alluded to it, he had not dared to come out and ask even though there was no doubt in his mind that the experience she could not bring herself to say was the one he was discussing with the healer right now. "It sounds sick but that how it begins," Nathan continued, snapping Ezra back to the present discussion.

"The molester is usually a father or an uncle, showing a facade of loving affection to the outside world while behind close doors in the dark, they prey on the child like a monster feeding."

Ezra felt sick. Hearing Nathan described it almost made him physically ill. How could any parent do that to a child? He remembered what Julia said that until she was a woman, she had not even believed it to be wrong assuming as all children did that it was just another one of those rules that made sense only to adults. The thought of what she must have suffered appalled him to no end and reinforced his determination to see to it that such terror never be visited upon her again.

"I am guessing that it ain’t you we’re talking about." Nathan ventured a guess.

"No," Ezra shook his head, putting to rest that question immediately. "Its Julia." He finally revealed, still holding the same belief that Nathan would keep their discussion discreet.

Nathan nodded, unsurprised by that revelation. "Is that why she’s so stubborn about her pa not finding her?"

"She has not exactly been forthcoming with her experiences in regards to her father but I am assuming as much." Ezra said quietly, unable to shake the inner turmoil he felt over this entire issue. He wished he had not been forced to leave Four Corners so abruptly and understood now with even more depth why the need to flee was so ingrained inside of her. Hopefully she could manage her fear long enough for him to return to Four Corners and deal with Mr Clemens.

"You can’t push her to talk about it Ezra," Nathan warned. "It has to come only if she’s willing and she may not ever be able to face him."

Ezra laughed shortly but that was no humour in it, just a bitterness that seemed to sadden his sea coloured eyes even more. "Well you need not worry about me pressing Julia into making any startling confessions, we are both if anything, adept at keeping our secrets."

Of that, Nathan had no doubt.

* * *

After so long envisioning this day, Don Alejandro Paulo was uncertain what he expected when he finally had the person responsible for his son’s demise before him. He expected to feel satisfaction and anger as he faced Inez Recillos who was brought into his study with her youthful companion, he even imagined a tirade of rage that would see him kill her with his bare hands. In his more fanciful visions of grandeur and revenge, he had pictured her begging at his feet for her life, demanding no begging to be set free and crying apology after apology for the part she had taken in the slaying of his beautiful son, Stefano.

However, as Ramirez presented her before him, all swollen with the child that would be the instrument of his eventual vindication, he found himself visited with an entirely new emotion, one he never thought he would feel when the moment of his triumph was finally at hand. She was not the firebrand he had imagined at all, nor was she broken and spiritless. Instead, she did not look at him even though he had Ramirez force her to her knees so that when she did meet his eyes, she could not help but look up at him. Even the youth with her offered more sport than the lady herself, who seemed to be residing in a place with walls not even he; Don Alejandro Paulo could breach.

He felt disappointed.

Even worse than that, he felt cheated and robbed of the satisfaction that should have come from this achievement. However as he stared hard at her from across his desk, she offered nothing that would allow him to believe that he was a victor in all this. It felt like she had taken something else from him and the idea that she had bested him once again was enough to fuel his insanity to new heights of rage and mania.

"You will look at me!" He roared and engendered not even the slightest hint of reaction from her.

His men had jumped startled by the sharp edge of his voice, the boy who was imprisoned next to Inez even shuddered slightly by his outburst but Inez herself did not even blink.

"What is the matter with her?" Paulo demanded, turning an accusatory eye at Ramirez. "Why does she not speak?"

Ramirez opened his mouth to answer but Inez spoke instead.

"I do not speak because you have nothing to say to me that I care to hear."

Her tone was cold, like brittle glass and JD next to her, felt a chill run down his spine hearing the dull monotone of her voice when held against the memory of its soft melody when it crooned him to sleep whenever he was ill or injured. Her gaze was fixed on the view outside the window of Paulo’s study, taking in the familiar sight of the hills that she had seen most of her life until Paulo’s son had chased her out of her home and everything she had known.

"You murdered my son." Paulo roared, exultant by the notion that she had deigned to speak and his words would finally draw a response.

"I murdered no one and your son was a coward." Inez lifted her eyes for the first time and returned his hard stare with a look of venom that made his pale in comparison. "He challenged everyone who helped me to a duel and like a coward, he would not abide by the rules of conduct when he lost. He was prepared to gun down the man who defeated him fairly even after that man gave his leave to go. That is your son." She said quietly.

"You are lying!" Paulo rounded the table and felled her with a backhanded blow.

"Leave her alone you bastard!" JD cried out as he saw Inez drop to the stone floor of the room. His reaction was rewarded with the hard butt of a gun rifle hitting in the centre of his back and making collapse as easily as Inez had fallen. The young man uttered a cry of pain as he felt his skin flare in pain but he shook it off as best he could because he was more concerned about Inez.

Paulo stormed up to Inez and grabbed her hair and held her face before his as he knelt down next to her. "You and your lover murdered my son! I will have my justice."

"You have nothing." Inez replied her teeth red with blood as she glared at him. "You can take my baby from my body but you will only have possession temporarily. There are men coming as surely as Ramirez killed my baby’s father. They are hardly men of honour or of good moral fibre but they know loyalty and they know what real justice is. You may have my child for a time but you will never be able to keep it. If I die never seeing my child grown, I will do so with the pleasure, Don Alejandro Paulo, of knowing that neither will you."

Paulo hissed at her and rose his hand to strike but could no more manage to beat her again because he could not stomach seeing that cold defiance or that look of resignation in her eyes that said doom for all of them was ordained before this day. Instead, he released her hair and let her fall onto her hands once again. Paulo walked away from her, angry that his victory felt sour in his mouth because she did not behave like a woman beaten even though her spirit was gone and what remained in its place was almost as formidable.

"Get Cuervo." He glared at Ramirez and his men who were standing around tyring not to be affected by the growing mania of their patron. "I want her child in my hands within the hour." He said viciously and threw her another look of black hatred.

"Si Don Paulo." Ramirez swallowed, disliking this part of the Don’s revenge but aware that there was no avoiding it. The man desired his vengeance and he would have it.

"Get them out of my sight until then. I do not care where," he said turning away from all the players in his carefully constructed drama, both the willing and unwilling participants alike. "Inform me only when Cuervo arrives."

He did not turn around until Inez was gone from his sight.

* * *

"Inez, are you okay?" JD asked as they were led from the room.

"Yes," Inez nodded, seemingly oblivious to the stain of blood on her lips or the large bruise that had formed on her skin. "I am fine." She replied, looking at him sympathetically because she knew he had been hurt when trying to come to her defence.

"How can you do this?" JD turned on Ramirez who was leading them down the corridor to the rest of the house and the room they were to be held captive for the time being.

"Shut up." Ramirez warned and threw him a dark look of menace to be quiet. As it was, he could see the uncomfortable expressions on the men around him. Until the Don had revealed his plans for Inez, none of them had been aware of the lady’s fate. It was a paradox that they could accept her being killed but felt anxiety about being party to her body being gutted so that her child could be stolen at the moment of its birth. There was something obscene in that which even Ramirez could not find conscionable and yet he knew that he could not betray his patron, after so many years of service.

JD would not be silent. "You guys talk about honour and nobility, are those just words or do they mean something to you?" He demanded, unwilling to let this go because he took could see the dissatisfaction in their eyes when he asked the question of Ramirez. "It was a fair fight!" JD cried out. "I was there when his son was killed. Buck gave him a chance to walk away. Paulo had cut him to ribbons but Buck didn’t want to take a man’s life in cold blood. He told Paulo to leave and the yellow coward grabbed a gun and tried to shoot him!"

"Be silent!" Ramirez whirled around and grabbed JD by the collar, gun drawn and completely prepared to shoot him if necessary to silence his conflicting words.

"JD." Inez said abruptly, the first trace of emotion entering her voice since he had awoke next to her hours before. "You cannot sway these men." She said sadly. "They were bound to their patron from before you were even born, some have followed their fathers into loyal service. It is not their fault that Don Paulo is insane. They are trying to be men of honour because duty requires them perform their service to their patron, no matter what the consequences to themselves."

Her words had more impact upon them than she knew, Ramirez cursed slightly because they were professional gunmen not hired killers even though the line blurred between the two distinctions at times. It was their honour that kept them one thing instead of the other and from the very onset of this expedition, their actions reeked of dishonour and immorality. Even though he projected a picture of unswerving faith in his Don, the others around him were not so certain and Ramirez finally understood why Raphael, one of his best and most loyal men had suddenly chosen to abandon his patron in the town of Four Corners.

They finally reached a room on the other side of the house well away from the Don’s study and Ramirez found himself looking forward to when this was all over. The architecture of Spanish styled villas were very open plan with much space in the rooms as wells as large windows. As a jail it was inadequate and when Inez and her youthful companion were finally ushered inside the room, Ramirez posted a guard to keep watch on them. While he would like this whole matter to simply dissolve and never again trouble him, Ramirez had a duty to perform and he intended to do so whatever the consequences.

Inez had been right about that much at least.

* * *

"Getting in ain’t going to be easy." Chris stated the obvious as he surveyed the lay of the Don’s estate through the eyepiece of Vin’s telescope. There were men stationed at every juncture indicating that Paulo expected trouble. Considering what he had just done, Chris could not fault the man for being cautious, however, it did not make things any easier for him.

"We can’t wait much longer," Vin said grimly as he searched for a possible point of entry along the lengthy wall of the perimeter. "Lord only knows what he’s has got planned for Inez and the kid."

"We can’t just go in there guns blazing," Chris lowered the telescope and met Vin’s gaze. "If the man’s mind is gone, he may just turn around and kill them while we’re fighting it out."

Despite Vin’s eagerness to do something, he could not fault Chris for his reasoning. It was true; a full frontal assault was only going to get someone killed. What they needed was a distraction but with only the two of them presently in Val Verde with little hope of assistance from the locals who looked upon their Don with reverence, the sharpshooter had no idea how they were to achieve this minor miracle.

"What we need is a distraction." Chris remarked, mirroring his own thoughts. 

"Can’t see much chance of that happening." Vin replied until suddenly something caught his eye at the edge of his peripheral vision. Four riders were making their way down the path that meandered through the heart of Val Verde and eventually emptied at the gates of Don Paulo’s estate. Although Chris had taken up his observation of the grounds once more, Vin’s attention remained firmly fixated on the approaching riders, certain that the familiarity he was seeing was not mere coincidence.

"Hey pard," Vin mused as the riders reached the outskirts of town and started edging towards the villa. "I think you better have a look at this." He replied as the deep red of Ezra’s jacket confirmed his suspicions on who was making a fast approach towards the villa.

"What?" Chris asked as he swung the telescope to where Vin was gesturing. The gunslinger said nothing for a moment, showing no signs of reaction other than a tightening in his jaw so slight that only Vin, other than Mary or perhaps Buck, could notice it.

"At least we’re all here." Vin said with a wry smile although judging by the dark look forming on Chris’ face the leader of the seven lawmen of Four Corners appeared hardly amused.

"Look at those idiots." Chris let out a sigh of resignation. "They’re just going in there, no plan, nothing. They’re going to get themselves killed."

"Or give us our distraction." Vin reminded, trying to alleviate Chris’ annoyance although he knew it was borne out of concern for his comrades rather than anything else. "The others know how to keep themselves out of trouble, maybe even long enough for us to get inside and find Inez and JD."

"True." Chris agreed rather begrudgingly and knew that if Vin was right about them taking advantage of the chaos that would be created the minute Buck and the other reached the gates and the shooting started, they would have to get going now. He glanced over the edge of the canyon and tried to find a way down that did not require them taking the lengthy trail they had used to reach this point. Chris would prefer finding a way down the canyon that would offer just enough danger that the Don would never suspect its existence. After a few seconds he found a protrusion of rocks and footholds that provided enough space to be called a ledge even though he would not live to regret it if he made a false step and fell.

"That way." He gestured to their way down the canyon as he handed Vin back his telescope. He glanced at the progress Buck and the others were making in their advance towards the Don and would be soon reaching the point where they would be sighted by the enemy. There was no way that Chris and Vin could reach them in time to stop them from laying siege to the villa until a more decisive plan could be envisioned. The only thing the gunslinger could think to do in order to help them was to take advantage of the situation by getting inside the grounds and taking up position at the rear of the enemy after they had removed Inez from the immediate vicinity.

"That’s going to be interesting," Vin replied studying the way down and knew that while tricky, the terrain was passable. Like the gunslinger, he tended to agree with the assertion that they should penetrate the perimeter of Paulo’s estate as soon as possible.

As Chris made his way across the rocky peak of the canyon, he brushed aside his concern for Buck’s state of mind at this time and reminded himself that the best way to help his friend at this time was to concentrate on the plan he and Vin had outlined. Buck’s usual demeanour was that of the happy go lucky rogue who was seldom perturbed about anything. Among the seven, only Chris had known the man long enough to be aware of a dark side to Buck’s personality that was rarely seen by anyone. It took quite a bit into provoke his rage into being and this situation could very well be one of those breaking points. At the moment, Buck was riding high on adrenalin and emotion, so blind with worry for Inez that he was a locomotive that none of the others could halt in his determination to reach her Chris was certain.

It was sure fire way to get himself killed.

They had just began their dangerous descent down the canyon wall when Chris and Vin were alerted by the sound of excited voices, chattering loudly from below. At the same time, the distant rumble of approaching horses that was now a thundering echo that signalled that their time had run out. The lawmen were not long into their steep climb when they froze momentarily as a new sound that ripped through the air, one both men recognised immediately.

Gunfire.

* * *

 

JD sat up the minute he heard the first gunshot.

Both he and his guard exchanged the same look as the sound dissipated to be followed by another eruption of gunfire. Instinctively, without even seeing it, JD knew it was Chris and the others. A tiny part of him that was still clinging to the hope that his friend was still alive and that Ramirez had lied to Inez, wondered if perhaps Buck Wilmington was there too. The guard barked at him in Spanish to sit down and while JD did not understand the language itself, he knew enough to put himself back in his chair for the moment. The man glanced at him with steely eyes while withdrawing to the door, his gun still aimed at JD as he pulled open the door.

"Inez." JD turned to the lady who was taking a moment to rest on the bed provided inside the room that served as their jail. She had said nothing since they had been deposited in this room and the momentary surge of fire she had displayed earlier in the Don’s study appeared to be only for the man’s benefit because she had been silent and listless ever since. JD’s voice engendered little more than a glance from her but it was enough to let him know that she was listening, no matter how disinterested in her welfare her grief had made her.

"Inez, are you alright?" He asked, a little louder this time as the guard took his eyes off them long enough to be appraised of the situation from a comrade running down the corridor, apparently to meet the threat. JD did not pay much attention to their conversation, able to estimate that the guard would be kept in place to keep watch over them, while the others went of to face what ever peril that was creating such chaos outside. While JD had a fair idea that the pandemonium was a direct result of the rest of the seven’s timely arrival, the youth intended to give them as much help in their rescue as he could muster.

"I’m fine, JD." She replied, still as dispassionately as before.

"You don’t look fine." He repeated himself, determined that she comprehend what he was trying to do. "You sort look a little off colour, like that day when it looked like the baby was coming."

Inez’s brow wrinkled in confusion as she turned to him and suddenly, it came over her what he was attempting to do. Their guard’s command of English was rudimentary at best and at present, the man seemed more concerned with what was transpiring outside than his duties keeping watch over them. JD hoped he was able to convey to Inez what he was planning and nodded slightly at her before the sentry returned his attention to them once again.

"JD!" She cried out, hands moving to her stomach in pain as she pulled her legs against her swollen belly in a mock imitation of pain.

"Inez, what it is?" JD asked standing up from his chair once again and demanding anxiously with a performance as superb as any Inez had seen him deliver in the past.

"I don’t know," she gasped, her face contorting with pain as her hands continued to clutch her stomach in an expression of increasing pain. The action had the desired effect for the guard immediately looked anxious at the unfolding events. "Oh!" She let out another strangled cry, adding more urgency to her voice as she continued her performance with devastating potency.

JD took a step forward but not kept a suitable distance between himself and Inez, nearing just enough to show his concern. Positioning and timing was critical here and JD was not about to misjudge the situation or the play when this appeared to be their  _one_  chance of getting out of here. "Inez, its not the baby is it?"

Inez’s response was another cry and he turned sharply to their jailer and declared. "We need a doctor!" JD exclaimed, uncertain whether or not the Mexican understood him but hoped the fear in his voice would do all the translation necessary. "She’s having the baby!"

"Bambino?" The man stammered with his eyes widened at the sight of Inez who was playing her part to near perfection with a series of well timed and well acted cries of pain.

"Si!" Inez switched to Spanish. She threw her head back following that declaration and screamed, not loudly but enough to make the man jump and drive him further along the edge of panic she had been guiding him so expertly towards.

JD held back and watched as the guard stepped towards Inez. The young sheriff’s eyes were fixed on the gun, waiting for the moment when it lowered enough for him to act. Inez was groaning and straining in pain, emitting sounds that would have scared JD to all hell if he had not known it was an act. He could see the guard debating what to do with each agonised cry she was uttering and JD knew that the man was inching closer to the place that JD needed him to be. As it was, the man appeared on the verge of a full blown anxiety attach and was trying to restrain himself even though he flinched as if it lashed him with a physical sensation every time Inez begged for help.

Certainly, JD’s suppositions were not at all dissimilar to what the guard was actually experiencing, while he wrestled at what to do. Even though this woman had earned his Don’s severest displeasure, Paulo  _did_  want her alive and that made his conundrum all the more confusing. If he did not seek out help for her and she was harmed in any way then it would be his fault but on the other hand he could not leave the prisoners to seek aid while there was no one to replace him on sentry duty. With the commotion taking place outside, it was a foregone conclusion that his comrades had troubles of their own.

The gunfire had become more intense and JD could only imagine what was taking place beyond the walls of their room. The youth was painfully aware that if things did not go the way of Don Paulo’s liking, the man might be vindictive enough to order them killed anyway. The son had been that vicious when defeated and JD saw no reason to believe that the father was any different. A man who conspired to take a woman’s baby out of her body was capable of anything and JD felt he owed it to Buck, even if his friend  _was_  dead, to ensure that nothing happened to either mother or child.

"Please Senor," Inez stared at the guard with tear filled eyes, sobbing in supposed agony as she continued her charade, begging him to help her with such heart rendering effort that the man could not help become overwhelmed by it until he completely forgot about JD.

It was what the youth had been waiting for. No sooner than the gun barrel had lowered to the point of acceptability, JD rushed forward, putting all the weight behind his shoulder as he slammed hard into the guard. Caught completely by surprise, the Mexican dropped the weapon in his hands onto the stone floor a millisecond before JD smashed the man up against the opposing wall with all the strength he could muster. As the gun clattered to the floor, Inez immediately ceased her performance and jumped off the bed, retrieving it as she heard the loud whack of the man’s skull against the wall.

He was not yet unconscious but JD did not give him time to recover. The blow to his head had knocked him senseless and he dropped onto all fours before JD attacked with his feet. JD did not know how many kicks he had delivered to the man before the guard stopped struggling but when it was all said and done JD found himself out of breath and looked down to see his victim covered in a litany of bruises. It was hardly the fairest way to get out of a tight situation, the young man thought with a hint of guilt as he saw the guard lying unconscious of the floor, but then neither was what they intended to do to Inez.

"Inez, you okay?" He asked quickly even though she was the one with the gun.

"Yes," she nodded breathlessly as she lumbered to him, still somewhat restricted by her bulk. "How about you?"

"I’m great," he grinned, feeling euphoric by the thought that freedom might be at hand. "Untie me would you?" Inez was already ahead of him, reaching immediately for the ropes that kept his wrist bound together and working quickly to untie the knots.

"That must be Chris." Inez replied, coming to the same conclusion as JD as to the rescue mission being mounted to retrieve them. Although freedom would be welcomed, she did not feel the same desire for it, knowing that Buck was dead. Until JD’s plan, Inez had been prepared to die with him because the idea of going on without Buck was more than she could stand but the young man was right. She needed to live not only for the child inside her, but also for Buck and the friends that had been willing to risk all in order to save her life. "We need to get out of here." She said. "If Paulo has not remembered us yet, he soon will."

"You ain’t kidding." JD wholeheartedly agreed as soon as his hands were freed. He rubbed his wrists, massaging the stiffness out of his joints before turning around and taking the gun from her. "You were great Inez, you almost had me believing the baby was coming."

"Well," Inez said with a small smile of affection. "You have me a good introduction." Leaning over, she kissed him gently on the cheek and found amusement in the wide eyed look on his face when she withdrew.

"What did you do that for?" He asked stuttering a little. Her breath against his cheek made his skin tingle and he felt himself sigh inwardly because it only reinforced the secret infatuation he always had for Inez. It was impossible not to be a little in love with her even though his affections for Inez were completely different from his feelings for Casey Wells.

"To thank you." She replied. "For not giving up on me."

He blushed slightly and reminded Inez how young he was even though he was capable of much wisdom when the need arose. "We better get out of here." He declared brushing past her and grabbing the chair he had been sitting on earlier. Leaning it on its back against the door handle, he jammed the door from the inside and ensured that no one would be barging in on them for awhile at least. He knew if anyone was especially determined to break into the room, the chair would offer little deterrent. In any case, JD intended taking advantage of the large windows in the room to break its confines.

"Do you think that you can make it out that window?" He asked as he went to the opening and peered out. As expected, nobody was paying much attention to this room with the gun battle that was taking place outside. While he could see none of his comrades from Four Corners, JD was certain that if he could just get Inez out of the high walls of the estate, they could reach Chris and the others.

"I will try." She nodded, filled with a new determination not to fail him when he was trying so hard to fulfil his promise to keep her and the baby safe.

JD climbed over the window sill and landed onto the soft grass outside the house. Taking Inez’s hand, he reached through the window and helped her to do the same. Although awkward, Inez managed to make the emergence in good time and they soon found themselves in the gardens at the rear of the house. Judging by the sound of the gunfire, most of the shooting was taking place on the other side of the villa. JD took Inez’s hand in his and led her away from the house, wanting to put as much distance between Inez and Don Paulo as possible. Although he did not bring it up with Inez, he had been listening when Don Paulo had ordered Ramirez to summon the man called Cuervo.

He did not why it was Curevo did for Don Paulo but JD had a feeling that for Inez’s sake, they had better not find out.

* * *

Buck was starting to become impatient.

He checked his gun and saw that he would need to reload soon and while they were making some progress at storming the gates of Don Paulo’s villa, it was not in his opinion fast enough. The Don’s men though decreasing gradually in numbers the longer the firing continued, were still halting their progress through the gates of the estate. Buck took refuge behind a wagon and could see Ezra not trying to make it across the space between the outer homes in the village to the wall that marked the grounds of Don Paulo’s villa.

The gambler was clearing himself attempting to pick off as many sentries returning fire along the top of the wall and to some extent was succeeding but it would take time and Buck could not afford to wait. In retrospect, he supposed that perhaps they had rushed in blindly and he wondered where Chris and Vin were. If they were in town, they would be here already and the lawman had the bad feeling that the gunslinger and the tracker might be already on their way back to Four Corners, with no idea that they were here, inching to a possible stalemate.

Buck had yet to see any signs of the Don himself although by all accounts, he was meant to be old and would probably leave the fighting to his men if he were as weak and ill as he was thought to be. He prayed that Inez was safe and that JD had been taken alive as a hostage and not some dark purpose they had yet to ascertain. The locals stayed huddled in doors, unwilling to become involved with so much shooting going on and he occasionally saw frightened faces peering through windows to make evaluation on the progress of the melee taking place. From the corner of his eye, he saw Josiah making his way laboriously from cover to cover, inching closer each time he ran forward under the cover of protection that Nathan provided with a hail of bullets towards the wall. Buck knew as well as those who were attempting to halt his crossing that if he made it, he would have created himself a blind spot from which they would be helpless to attack.

The preacher ducked under the cover of a water through as one of Paulo’s men realised his intention and Buck watched him scramble behind the safety of the thick wooden structure as the bullets impacted the ground close behind him, sending small clouds of dust and dirt into the air. With a man of his bulk, Josiah moved with surprising speed and Buck aimed his own gun at the hired gun who was attempting to stop the preacher for reaching his goal. With the concentrated fire from both Nathan and Buck, the walls of bullets finally penetrated the man’s efforts to avoid them and Buck watched dispassionately as he tumbled to the ground, a crimson stain marking the killing wound on his chest.

Josiah saw the cessation of fire from that quarter and immediately bolted forward even though the others soon saw he was wide in the open. The preacher ran as if the devil himself was nipping at his heels and Nathan continued laying the suppressing fire that allowed him to breach the gulf before reaching the cover of the wall. Once he reached the edifice, Josiah pressed himself against the concrete and skimmed along the edge, confident that Nathan would still be covering him as he followed the wall until he found an unguarded part of it that he could safely climb over. The high walls only seemed occupy the frontage of the village and Buck had no doubt that Josiah would find a way inside the grounds, once he had passed that formidable barrier.

He looked over and saw Ezra withdrawing behind the wall of the house he was using for cover to reload his weapon. The gambler’s hands moved deftly as he slid the bullets into the chamber with as much fluidic skill that he displayed when he was shuffling cards. He tipped his hat in Buck’s direction as he saw Buck stealing a glance at his way before turning back to the fighting. Buck returned his attention to take stock of Josiah’s progress and felt a certain amount of concern when he could no longer see the preacher.

"Nathan!" Buck called to the healer who had been conducting most of his attach from inside the confines of an empty wagon, stationed not too far from him next to someone’s home. "Where’s Josiah?"

The healer did not answer for a few moments, taking careful aim with his rifle and firing at the men stationed on top of the wall frontage. While not as good as Vin Tanner with the weapon, Nathan was still quite a formidable shot and proved it when he downed two men with single shots. He aimed carefully and knew exactly where to shoot to cause the most damage. As Buck saw another blind spot open up with their demise, the healer took the time to reload.

"He’s rounded the fence line!" Nathan replied as Buck took up his slack.

No sooner than he had spoken, Buck caught sight of the preacher. He was on the top of the wall and was firing at the men who were holding the gate hostage. Seeing his presence there, immediately shifted the strategy of their attack and Buck turned his guns on the men who might take that advantage from him. Nathan and Ezra followed suit, giving Josiah as more protection as they were able as he began his assault behind enemies lines so to speak. Bodies began falling off the wall, or slumped over its edge but in every case, the threat they posed was being quickly neutralised. When Buck saw them turn tail and run he knew he was never going to get a better chance of getting into the place.

Jumping out from behind his hiding place, he ran at breakneck speed towards the gate, mindful of any stragglers that might chose to stop him before he reached it. However, Buck was confident that Nathan and Ezra would keep that from happening and he could not leave Josiah up there alone. While the preacher was doing an admirable job of holding his own, Buck was not about to let him languished now that he had created an opening for them to proceed. Buck crossed the space with guns blazing, driving anyone back who might still be close enough to a threat. He saw one or two of Paulo’s men withdrawing past the gate and running deeper into the estate seeking refuge.

Reaching the gate, he saw the enemy re-establishing a line of defence inside the grounds of the estate and knew that the others did not have a lot of time. Waving them forward, he needed not make any verbalisation as he saw Ezra and Nathan emerged from their hiding places now that it was relatively safe to make the crossing without being cut to ribbons. When Buck had reached the bottom of the wall, he had lost sight of Josiah but knew the preacher could take care of himself and would turn up eventually. Besides, they had to redeploy themselves before Don Paulo’s line of defence barred them from the house where Buck was certain Inez was being held prisoner.

He saw the Don’s men preparing to hold them off and bolted forward, making a dash for the stables that lay to the rear of the house. If he could reach that point, he would be effectively behind what ever line of defence they were attempting to mount and he could reach the house without too much trouble. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Ezra reaching the other side of gate and gestured to the gambler which way he was going. Ezra nodded, understanding that it was likely that the Don’s men would attempt to stop him in his journey there and conveyed to Buck that he could proceed because Ezra would be covering his back. Buck ran out the same time that Ezra began shooting at the hired guns attempting to consolidate themselves into a firing line.

Ezra watched Buck running into the open and maintain a tight series of shots at anyone who might try to harm him. The Mexicans were taking up position behind strategic locations to hold them off from moving any deeper into the grounds of the estate now that the lawmen had stormed the gates so to speak. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Josiah had positioned himself with the same intention, using the top of the high wall as his vantage point as he kept any shooters away from Buck.

Buck made good time and soon disappeared from the line of fire of everyone until Ezra could not longer see him. Turning his attention back to the rest of the fighting, Ezra hoped Buck was able to find Inez and JD soon. With the tide of the battle balanced so precariously at the moment, the Don might be spiteful enough to harm the lady and her baby to exact his revenge even in defeat.

* * *

As expected, no one had anticipated incursions onto the estate by the perilous face of the canyon walls that surrounded the rear of the estate. Although it was not an experience neither man would like to repeat in the near future, Chris and Vin made it down from the height in one piece and were relatively unnoticed when they entered the grounds of Don Paulo’s villa. With the explosion of gunfire erupting in the not too far distance, they were able to move towards the house quickly, deciding that it was the best place to start their search for Inez and JD.

The entire place was in disarray with the main concentration of effort on repelling Buck and the others who had managed to break through the obstacle of high walls to penetrate the interior of the grounds. Even as they crossed the terrain towards the house, the evidence of the Don’s defeat was apparent in the bodies that were scattered in front of the walls and in places where they had been attempting to hold off the lawmen. Chris sincerely hoped that the Don did not believe that the gun battle was lost because there was no telling what the man would do in vengeance. With Inez so vulnerable and JD trussed up and unarmed, the man could still deliver a significant blow to their victory, if he killed the object of their rescue mission. A man crazy enough with grief was liable to do that.

"How do you thing we’re doing?" Vin asked as they approached the main house stealthily. Most of the Don’s men were focussed on keeping Buck and the others from getting any farther into the grounds. Vin could see Josiah perched on the top of the walled fence, while Ezra and Nathan were flanking the gates.

"Okay I think," Chris replied, although he would feel better about the whole situation if he knew what was going on. Even though he had not voiced it, he was concerned why Buck was not among their number and entertained for a brief moment the notion that there might be a more sinister reason for his absence. "We’ll get Inez and JD," Chris said dismissing the thought for the moment, "and head towards the stable. We’ll need to get her in a wagon. No way is she fit to ride in her condition."

They entered the doors at the back of the house and found themselves in the kitchen. Some of the women were huddling in the pantry area for fear of the shooting and uttered frightened cries of distress upon seeing them. Chris saw no reason to make them think any different and told Vin to order them into silence if they wanted to survive the day. The tracker did so reluctantly and was pleased when the threat was more than enough to cloak their fear with a veil of enforced quiet. Further questioning revealed that they knew nothing about Inez or any prisoners but house keeper, who had replaced Paloma incidentally, did offer that they were ushered out of the house a short time ago.

The house was virtually unattended with most of the household personnel having left the sprawling home in favour of safer pastures until the gun battle was over. Those who were still in the house fled at the sign of them which further hastened their determination to find Inez and get out of the place before the commotion they caused attracted unwanted attention. Getting Inez away from here safely was going to be problematic at best without having to do so with every one who could carry a gun or a pitchfork for that matter, coming after them in pursuit, even if the others and hopefully Buck to was out there.

Finally, they had little choice but to follow the process of elimination and due moved through the house searching rooms for any signs of Inez and JD. They were left largely unaccosted since all of Don Paulo’s men were required outside, defending the villa against the lawmen from across the border. Which suited Chris fine since Inez would be in no condition to move fast if they were discovered after finding her. After searching through most of the house, they finally arrived upon a door whose handle did not indicate it was locked but would not move when they attempted to open it.

"You think?" Vin looked at Chris in expectation, taking a gamble that perhaps this door somehow barricaded from the other side might be the present location of Inez Recillos and JD Dunne.

"Only one way to find out," Chris replied as he kicked the door in and heard the audible snap of wood breaking. Splinters flew in directions from the shards of flying wood when the lock and its mechanism were nearly ripped off the framework of the door way. The legs of the chair that had been used to hold the door close had been snapped under the strength of Chris’ forceful entry and the two men entered with guns drawn to find the room empty except for one gunmen who lying unconscious on the floor. Evidence of escape was all around the place, from the ropes on the floor to the open window and the Don’s hired hand lying with a mess of bruises.

"Looks like we’re running a little behind." Chris remarked, surveying the situation and wondering whether or not if it was entirely a good thing for Inez and JD to be wandering about on their own, when it was a free for all outside.

"We better go after them." Vin retorted. "With all that shooting out there, someone could get trigger happy and just decide to kill and be done with it." Vin responded with typical Tanner optimism.

"Well," Chris frowned unhappily at this latest turn of events. "You’re the tracker, lead the way."

Vin threw him a look and edged towards the window. "I think they went this way."

Chris rolled his eyes and replied with a hint of sarcasm. "I would never have guessed."

* * *

They were making good progress even though she was moving so slowly that Inez was frankly surprised they had not been killed yet. Even though there was a well of grief inside of her threatening to burst free each time she even thought about Buck Wilmington, Inez managed to keep it under control for the moment. Although it would have been easier to give up on herself and let it overwhelm her, Inez had decided that she would not jeopardise JD’s life by wallowing in her sorrow. It was one thing to condemn herself to her fate but JD was another matter entirely, to say nothing about the baby she carried inside her. JD had been tireless in his efforts to keep her safe and he had nursed her through every step of this escape, ensuring that anyone who would be a threat to them was silenced forever.

It was easy to forget that he was a boy when she saw him gun down any of Paulo’s henchmen who happened upon them while they fled towards the stable. JD knew as well as she did that riding a horse out of here would be damn near impossible. She needed a wagon or a carriage, anything but a saddle. The youth’s plan was simple. Head to the stable and steal a wagon before getting out of this place. Like him, Inez was fairly certain that Ezra and the rest of the seven were on the other side of the battle field and safety would be ensured once she and JD joined them.

Until now JD had been strong and hiding his fear even though she could see it in his eyes. His determination to maintain his calm for her sake overwhelmed Inez with a warm affection. She felt swept away with it as her own desire to protect Buck’s child found renewal because of JD’s desire to see her delivered from the threat of Don Paulo’s vengeance. JD hid all signs of concern from his face, despite his fears of failing her and Inez was equally determined not to let him down by allowing herself to become a slave of her own self pity. She still lived and so did her child and for JD’s efforts she was not going to be any more of a hindrance to him.

Of course in the midst of this revelation, Inez made a discovery that eclipsed all others considerations.

Inez paused in mid step. They had rounded the house and could see the stable in the distance, having avoided the gunfire and chaos wrought in the battle still raging between Don Paulo’s men and the seven. She swallowed hard, feeling it come over her and found herself wondering how these things could be so  _damn_  inconvenient. The sensation warmed her skin, followed by the familiar stickiness then came with moisture drying rapidly. For a moment she did not dare to move, wanting to be absolutely certain that it was indeed happening and not some symptom engendered of stress as Alex had warned. After a moment, Inez came to the firm realisation that it was she who was in denial because the moment was happening.

And it was happening  _right_   _now_.

"Come on Inez," JD turned around and looked at her, wondering why she had stopped. "We’re almost there." He tried to urge her to keep moving.

"JD," she said uncertain how to tell him. "We have a problem."

"No we don’t," he said confidently. "It will be a rough ride back to Four Corners but we’ll have you there in no time. All we gotta do is get to a wagon first and get out of here."

 _Oh dear_ , Inez frowned. She suddenly had this premonition that he was  _not_  going to take this well.

"It’s not that JD," she swallowed. "My water just broke."

He looked at her blankly, not understanding and Inez groaned inwardly, wondering after a second why she would expect him to understand. He was, despite his amazing calm under pressure right now, a young man who was in all likelihood virginal and while not completely unknowing about the differences between man and woman, had to be afforded some measure of ignorance.

"What?" He asked in typical JD fashion.

"The baby is coming." She repeated herself. "My water just broke."

His eyes flared up in nothing less than astonishment and if she had thought he was displaying fear before, it was nothing in comparison to the expression that crossed his face at the revelation of  _that_  news. 

"Now?" He exclaimed. "You mean right now? The baby is coming now! It can’t!" He erupted in a verbose ejecta and was soon reduced to incomprehensible babbling to which the only thing coherent thing that she was capable of understanding from were the words ‘can’t’, ‘now’ and finally ‘faint’.

"JD calm down!" Inez cried out trying to allay his panic which was quickly getting out of hand. 

"Calm down!" He looked at her almost wild. "I don’t know what to do! I mean you have to lie down and rest and then there is the whole hot water thing!"

Inez rolled her eyes and finally felt her own calm starting to erode. "JD, you are not helping." Inez looked at him sternly. "My water just broke, there are people around this place that are ready to kill us and to top it all off, Alex is in Four Corners! You going to pieces on me is not the way I want to have this baby!"

JD started to hyperventilate and Inez let out an exasperated groan as she saw the boy doubling over trying to keep his panic under control. "Madre mois!" Inez swore as she waddled up to him and made certain that he was all right. "Just breathe easily," she instructed as she attempted to calm him down. "You are having a panic attack."

"Of course I’m panicking!" JD stared at her, gesturing to her abdomen in frantic movements of his hands. "I don’t nothing about birthing no babies!"

"Who said you had to?" A new voice suddenly entered the equation.

Both Inez and JD snapped their heads towards the speaker in unison and found themselves greeted by a familiar face. Buck Wilmington was standing before them, larger than life, hiding the intense relief at discovering them behind a cocky smile.

"Buck!" Inez gasped out loud almost fainted with joy as she saw him there.

He was alive! The words repeated itself in her head deliriously as she ran into his arms and amazed herself with how fast she was able to cross the space between. Buck caught her in his arms the moment she reached him and for a few seconds, nothing else existed in the world but each other. Not even the universe in fact, when their mouths met in a kiss of passion, joy and a rainbow of other emotions that stemmed from the intense gratitude of being together again. Inez held onto Buck so hard she did not dare let go and told herself that she would never do so again or be foolish enough to let him believe that she did not feel anything but utter delight at having him in her life.

Buck hid how much he felt as he held her, feeling similar emotions that were equally intense. When he had stumbled upon her and JD, he had almost felt the air escape his lungs out of the sheer gratitude of finding her alive and well. If anything destroyed the doubt that she was the only woman he could ever love in this life and any other, it was that moment when he saw her standing there, trying to do whatever she was doing to JD. He was fighting hard to contain the tears of relief that threatened to escape his eyes because it would not do for her to see it when this occasion, though perilous still, seemed to have lost its teeth now that they were together again.

"He said he killed you." She whispered when they pulled away enough for her to look up at him. Her eyes were filled with the same tears of gratitude that Buck had not shed but nonetheless understood completely. "I thought he killed you and it felt like he killed me too."

"He winged me," Buck said with a smile, wiping the tears of her cheek with his finger. "But he couldn’t kill me." He replied. "Ain’t nothing keeping me away from you or our baby." A smile stole across his face as he kissed her again and that kiss dissolved into another warm embrace.

JD watched Buck and Inez and found himself grinned ear to ear even though there was gunfire still exploding in the background and elsewhere, people were trying to kill each other. For the moment, at least in this tiny corner of it, all was right with the world as far as JD Dunne was concerned. He too was happy to see Buck and had to confess a part of him that refused to believe the man would do anything so terrible as to get himself killed before he had taught JD everything he knew.

"I just knew it Buck." JD said exuberantly as he hurried to his friend. "I knew you were too big and dumb to kill."

Buck turned to the young man and broke away from Inez to ruffle JD’s hair in a gesture the kid normally hated but didn’t seem to mind as he repeated the same brotherly embrace with JD and pulled away a second later. "You did good kid," Buck said genuinely meaning. "I owe you for this."

"I’m just glad you got here," JD said with a relieved expression as he glanced at Inez. "She’s having the baby now1"

"Now?" Buck looked at her, believing their conversation earlier to be the result of JD panicking because he was stuck with a pregnant woman without a doctor and not because of any urgency in the matter. "You can’t have the baby now!" Buck’s voice raised an octave and almost became a squeak.

"If I wasn’t so happy to see you, I’d slap you!" She exclaimed exasperated wondering if this reaction was going to be universal. "I can’t exactly tell the baby to wait you know, my water’s broke!"

"Aw hell!" Buck looked at her stricken with almost as much panic but to his credit, he held it together because she needed him to. "We got to get out of here!"

"I think not," Don Paulo stepped out, having taken advantage of their reunion to sneak up on them. With him was Ramirez and a gun aimed at all of them. "In fact, I think this will work out even better than what I planned before."


	8. Prairies and Wounded Heifers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note to say that I am taking a lot of dramatic license with the birthing process so to all those moms out there, forgive me if I've over dramatized a bit.

 

_It was raining hard that day._

_He remembered how quiet they all had been as they stood out in the open, rain drizzling down their hats as they watched the body being lowered into its final resting place in the earth, trying to decide why they were even here at all. The man who was being buried was nothing to them. Less than nothing actually, considering the turmoil he had left in his wake and the unpleasant ramifications his death had meant to one of them. It was days after the event and the frown that had been etched in Vin Tanner’s face during that time had not faded away and seemed to deepen like the weight of the bounty that hanging over his head, like an axe ready to fall._

_With the death of Ely Joe, Vin Tanner had lost any chance of proving his innocence and Buck could empathise with his unhappiness. Although he did not look it, Vin was a young man not much older than JD even though they were poles apart in wisdom. Chris had offered words of comfort to try and assuage Vin’s depression that things were not as bad as they looked but Chris was never good at such things. Following the first clump of dirt that hit the pine box of Ely Joe’s coffin, there seemed no further reason to remain although all were still at a loss to explain why they were here until Buck remembered that no one wanted Vin to be alone. The tracker had a strange sense of honour and had been insistent on being present when they lowered Ely Joe into the earth, perhaps needing the sense of closure that came with seeing the man buried. Whatever the reason, the rest of the seven had been unwilling to let him face the day alone. He was solitary enough as it was._

_He could not recall who had made the suggestion that they get a drink but it was something they all agreed with. Four Corners was battening down the hatches for a hell of a thunderstorm and this teaming rain coming down around their ears was only the first act. They needed to get indoors anyway and it was JD who suggested going to the Standish Tavern. Predictably, Ezra Standish had groaned in distaste and disillusionment, having recently been engaged in a price war with the hotel during his brief ownership of the saloon in question. Maude Standish had not merely run him into the ground but to add insult to injury, she had bought out the mortgage on the place and wrestled ownership away from Ezra. The gambler was still stinging from the defeat and the fact that Maude did not even give him the dignity of leaving the management of the business in his stead, finding a complete stranger to hand that responsibility instead._

_Somehow they had managed to convince Ezra to accompany them to the Standish Tavern, even though that wrought a series of erudite complaints from the man for most of the journey to the establishment. Buck had expected nothing out of the ordinary on this particular day, expecting to see the same dusty surroundings that reeked of liquor and smoke, filled with the lively noises of drunken patrons and lusty saloon girls working the room. It was a comfortable place of sights and sounds to which they had grown accustomed to over the years of living the lives they did. When Buck entered the Standish Tavern, there was no reason to think that today would be any different from any other visit to the saloon._

_Until he saw her._

_  
It was impossible not to have noticed the new bartender when they walked into the establishment. Men had come from all over town to have the chance to be served by the newest residence of Four Corners. Buck had recalled Ezra saying something about being usurped by a lady of Latin American extraction and had no given much else thought to the subject until he entered the place and saw her. She was holding court behind her bar that afternoon, working hard as always but brandishing a smile with as much lethal intensity as some man carried a gun._

_Buck could not say that he knew what lay in store for him after that first glimpse of jet coloured hair bouncing off her dusky skin or the eyes that were full and warm, yet sharp and knowing. Everything about her had been so different from the women he had lusted after, the fact that she was not his for the taking and that her love had to be earned. Everything that came after that day had been done in his determination to be the man she wanted. Although it would take much resistance and a lot of soul searching to admit, Buck had fallen in love with Inez Recillos from the first moment he first gazed upon her earthy smile._

He stood by her now, his eyes taking in the sight of her swollen body, filled with the child they had created in an expression of their love and knew that he would allow nothing to harm either of them. Even though both Alejandro Paulo and Ramirez had their guns upon him, Buck found he did not care and if they made one move towards his family and that included JD, he was going to kill them both with his bare hands or die trying. His hand slipped into Inez’s and he took a step forward to ensure that any gunfire would have to come through him to reach her.

"Don’t move," Ramirez ordered when he made the move.

"Then you’re going to have to shoot me again." Buck said firmly, glaring at both men with a new hatred and fast reaching a point of no return within himself. He could not know that there instincts churning within him that were older than he that perhaps only Chris and this unfortunate creature would wish to take his world away in vengeance, could possibly understand. "You ain’t taking my child."

"Kill him!" Alejandro ordered.

"No!" Inez cried out in despair, horrified by the possibility that Buck had only come back to her so that she could see him murdered.

Her outburst distracted Ramirez only momentarily but it was more than enough. Buck rushed forward, hoping the margin of time between his attention shifting from Inez to Buck’s attack would be wide enough. At this point, he had nothing to lose. He slammed into Ramirez who was much smaller in stature than himself and practically bowled the man over, knocking his would be assassin off his feet and sending him into the dirt. He still managed to maintain his grip on the weapon he was carrying and as he and Buck wrestled on the ground, tried to take aim. Buck grabbed the wrist holding the gun and kept the man pinned under him precariously as they struggled.

"Buck!" Inez called out as her heart stopped beating in her chest at the sight of the two men fighting.

Paulo who had retrieved JD’s weapon earlier was holding Inez and JD at bay even though they wanted to intervene and help Buck. Unwilling to wait to see who would emerge victorious, Paulo decided to take matters into his own hands. Clearly, things had not progressed as he anticipated but so long as he had Inez, there was still a chance to salvage his plan as well as have his revenge.

"You are coming with me!" He stepped forward and grabbed Inez by the arm, twisting her so hard that he could feel muscles aching with pain as she forced her back to him. She grunted in pain as he forced her to start walking, leaving Buck and Ramirez behind her. She tried to turn around and see Buck but Paulo only jabbed her gun deeper into skin until the metal met the obstruction of her ribs and had no choice but to comply with his demand to start walking.

"Leave her alone!" JD bellowed, taking only a few steps before he realised that he was unarmed and that Paulo had a gun on both of them. If he had not paused first, he would have been forced to do so any way because Paulo’s order to him to stand aside was met with the warning that came with a gun cocking in his face. Swearing under his breath, he felt helpless watching Paulo take Inez and was almost willing to take his chances by rushing the man, until Paulo did the one thing that JD did not expect and did not dare act against.

"Interfere with me boy and I will kill them both." He made his threat all the more chilling by pressing the barrel of the gun against her swollen belly and saw the boy falter immediately at the very idea that he was willing to shoot the child inside her.

"You bastard." JD found himself declaring in a voice that sounded not all like HD. The disgust he felt by the tactics used by this man showed but JD could not do anything with him holding Inez under threat like this. What kind of a human being threatened a child while it still slumbered away in the womb. JD glanced at Buck who was still fighting Ramirez and could see why Don Paulo was leaving, it was obvious that in a few seconds the outcome would be decided and it would not be in the favour of his servant.

"Don Paulo," Inez implored as he pushed her forward to get her moving. "I cannot walk far." She confessed and did not lie when she said it. "My water has broken, the baby is coming now." She tried to look at him but was convinced other wise, when the cold steel jabbed deeper into the turgid side. "I’m going into labour." She groaned a little as she felt the first contractions making itself felt inside of her.

"Your inconveniences do not concern me," he said viciously. "What does is the baby that belong to me. Your survival is not important."

"Do not do this!" She begged once again, not only because she knew that this plan of his had no way of working now that the others were here but also there was a deep sadness that the man they had all looked up to in Val Verde had come to this. "Don Paulo, you were always a fair man and we respected you. You treated us well and there was not one person in Val Verde who ever had reason to think ill of you. I can never tell you how sorry I am that Stefano was taken from you because of me but you cannot let his death be the cause of yours. You know as well as I do, you will never leave this place with my child and if you kill me in the process, I cannot say that you will live to see the end of this day."

"Shut up!" He roared and made her face him because he would have her look at him when he told her what he thought of her words. How dare she presume to tell him how to feel.

Inez fell to her feet and glared at him when she felt fresh pain course her body. She could feel the contractions growing in intensity and knew that she could not keep this up much longer. She needed a doctor and she needed one now. However, it appeared her more immediate problem was becoming more unhinged with the growing awareness that his demand for vengeance was going to fail.

"Inez!" JD called out seeing the pain in her face and wishing to do something when saw something moving at the corner of the far wall and recognised the sawn off Winchester that was slowly moving into position. JD did not need to see who was wielding the weapon to know that he ought to hold his ground. Paulo was so lost in his tirade of anger at Inez that he had missed the barrel targeting him with expert skill. The youth dropped to his knees quietly because he was standing behind the Don and needed to place himself out of the line of fire. Somehow, he had to give the same instruction to Inez who was lying on her back, only a few feet away from him. Her gaze was fixed on the Don who was standing over her with nothing less than maniacal rage in his eyes.

"You do not know anything about what I am!" Paulo was raging. "He was a good boy. He tried to do the best he could!"

"He was a misery to everyone he met!" Inez shouted. "The only reason any of us tolerated him in the village was because he was your son!" Her own anger was starting to burn out of control. For three years, she had lived with the guilt that perhaps, she could have done something to keep things from turning out how they had with regards to Don Stefano Paulo. Now, she questioned why she should feel guilty about anything. She was the victim, not he! It was not her choice to become the object of his unwanted attentions, neither was it her fault that he break into her mother’s house and tried to force her like some common thug.

"You want to feel anger Don Paulo?" She glowered at him, her rage stoked into an uncontrollable fury that matched his for intensity. "Feel anger for the one who allowed him to behave the way he had? Blame the person who cleaned the wounds of those he hurt but did nothing to prevent it from happening again and there were many before me, we both know that! How many daughters had he raped and degraded in the night? How many cries of mercy did he ignore and that you disregarded when he did his worst? I was lucky! I ran and I escaped that humiliation but your son spared me nothing else!"

"You are lying!" He returned. "Stefano was young and foolish! He did not mean anything that he did!"

"He was a SADISTIC MURDERER!" She screamed enraged.

Paulo pulled the trigger of his gun and the bullet smashed into the ground next to her. Inez flinched at the sound but did not move and saw him cock the gun again. This time he aimed it at her and Inez realised that he had reached a place where not even reason was going to help him or her if he fired. Behind him, JD’s eyes were staring frantically at her and the youth was gesturing for her to remain where she was. Suddenly Inez realised the situation had changed even though she did not understand why.

However, understanding was not required and she remained frozen in place, praying that JD knew what he was doing or they would all have reason to regret it.

* * *

In the meantime, Buck had finally managed to tear the gun from Ramirez’s fingers and toss it aside harmlessly. In the background, he had heard the gunfire and the shot had given him the extra edge he needed to put the man he was fighting down for good. Normally, Buck would have already dispatched him but the injury Ramirez had given him the day before had hindered his efforts. There was not as much power in his blows as he liked his movements was restricted by the pain. Hearing Inez’s voice grow silent had filled Buck with such a dread that he was pounding at the man with nothing more than adrenalin coursing through his veins.

Ramirez was not yet beaten though and despite the severe pummelling he was receiving at the hands of the ghost he thought he had killed earlier, he launched a formidable counter attack by jamming his fingers into the bandaged area of his shoulder. Buck screamed in pain, feeling the sharp pressure against the tender and broken flesh left in wake of the bullet. He pushed himself off Ramirez to escape it and felt his entire body shuddering from the effects of the intense agony. However, Buck recovered when he saw the man scrambling towards the gun and launched himself after the Mexican without even thinking.

Wrapping his fist around the booted ankle of his enemy, Buck pulled back sharply with all the power he could muster and saw Ramirez’s legs give way as he slammed hard into the dirt face first. As he tried to claw away from Buck, he kicked hard, trying to land his heel in the lawman’s wounded shoulder once again. Buck avoided this best he could but Ramirez was strong and Buck was injured. When his free ankle struck Buck’s fist, Buck was forced to release him and Ramirez wasted no time as he raced for the weapon. Buck in turn hurried after him in an effort to stop him. The two men’s eyes were fixed on the same prize when suddenly a black boot came down on the weapon and ended any further competition.

"Its about time." Buck Wilmington looked up at Chris Larabee and complained as the gunslinger stood calmly before him, hand poised over the gun in his holster. Ramirez did not to be told to know that the match was over because this black garbed stranger had usurped them both.

"Sorry pard," Chris said with a faint smile, which was about as much emotion as he was going to show that he was glad to see Buck alive and well. "We were trying to find Inez and JD."

"Inez!" Buck immediately got to his feet and started towards the direction that Paulo had gone when he took Inez . Buck could not see JD but assumed the kid was close to the lady.

"Stand down Buck." Chris ordered immediately. "Vin’s taking care of it but the man’s armed and about to go over the edge." He and Vin had finally caught up to all three of their friends after Buck had rushed Ramirez. They had seen Inez being led away by Paulo with JD following closely even though he could do nothing to help the lady. Obviously, JD’s sense of obligation would not allow him to abandon Inez which was just as well. Combined with his sense of survival and his need for vengeance, the man had not seen Vin Tanner taking up position with his Winchester, preparing to end this once and for all.

"Don’t kill him!" Ramirez pleaded. "He’s sick in the head." The henchman tried to do one final service for his patron. With the plan crumbling before him, Ramirez knew that it was time to clean up the mess and save Paulo if they could do. This whole idea of vengeance was ill conceived from the very beginning but if they could come away from this with the Don’s life, then he was willing to concede defeat before there was any more bloodshed.

"That may be," Buck replied coldly. "But if we let him go, he ain’t never gonna leave me and Inez alone. I ain’t letting him come at us in a couple of years, I won’t." He looked at Chris firmly.

"The Don is sick," Ramirez continued to implore. "He is not long for this world and if you leave here without his vengeance, his spirit will be broken. I swear to you on my word as a man of honour, I will not allow him to bring to you or Inez again."

"You were willing to kill me," Buck hissed as he walked up to the man and stared at him with unbridled disbelief. "You were willing to gut the woman that I love and take her baby from her dead body? What the hell use is your word?"

Ramirez swallowed hard, hating that he was in this position but he had crossed a line and he knew it. Since the very beginning he had reservations about what the Don was attempting to achieve and with the plan lying in ruins, it seemed even more fruitless to continue this destructive course that would only lead to more of his men dying as well as his patron. "Would you rather kill a sick old man when you could have the chance to let him live and still be rid of him?"

"Buck…." Chris started to say.

"Chris, you know as well as I do what kind of hate that anger can bring. He ain’t gonna let this go." Buck said firmly. "Throw me the gun." He said firmly, with a tone of voice that Chris seldom heard from the happy go lucky rogue. Retrieving the gun from under his boot, he flung it at Buck who caught it with his good arm before the man strode away, every intention of stopping Paulo once and for all.

Chris did know what Paulo was feeling even though he was more justified in his need for vengeance than the old man. Sarah and Adam had not deserved what had happened to them, the younger Paolo did and had every chance to save his own skin but squandered it for revenge. While he empathised with the man’s father for suffering the pain of losing a child, he could not blame Buck for wanting to protect his own family from the senior Don Paulo’s wrath. Buck was right, if he left this undone now, there was no telling when Don Paulo might choose to exact his revenge and looking over one’s shoulder was no way to live.

"It’s his family," Chris looked at Ramirez as he motioned the man to starting walking. "It’s his decision."

"He’s a sick man," Ramirez continued to protest, unwilling to give up on trying to convince these men that his patron could be saved. "Why would you kill a sick old man when you could let him live?"

"Because he’s a sick old man with a lot of power in this town." Chris retorted. "You telling me you know for sure that he ain’t gonna turn around when you’re not looking and have some hired gun go after Inez and the kid?"

Ramirez could not answer because he was unable to offer that guarantee.

* * *

When Buck found Inez and JD, he immediately sighted Vin Tanner behind the far corner of the house wall in the nearby distant, aiming directly at Paulo. The only reason he had not fired yet was because Inez was standing between him and the target and was presently staring down the barrel of the Don’s gun aimed at her face.

"Buck!" JD sighed with gratitude as he saw his friend emerge.

Paulo immediately swung away from Inez and turned to her lover. He had been lingering for a moment, confused by Inez’ incendiary words, wanting nothing more than to put a bullet through her body and silencing her once and for all. The more she had spoken, the more addled he became, trying to separate the fact from the fiction inside his mind. As angry as he was, he still remembered the unpleasant facts that she spoke off, in particular about his son’s behaviour towards the girls in the village. Faces flashed before him as he thought about them, faces not of the girls themselves but of their families as he tried to make reparations for the crimes committed by his son so that he could escape punishment.

"You are killed him." Don accused Buck, his mind starting to shift from moment to moment. He was grasping at the straws in his head, unable to keep his focus on what he was doing a moment ago, as Inez became forgotten in his memory as he dealt with Buck’s arrival. "You took my son from me."

"I did not want to." Buck replied. A second ago he had been all fired to kill this man and end the threat of him from Inez and his baby forever. Yet now, as Buck looked at this frail old man, diminished in more ways than anyone should be by grief, he could not bring himself to do put an end to Don Alejandro Paulo. If he were to take the life of this feeble old Mexican, he would be no better than the men who had gunned down Chris’ father in law, Hank Connelly when he had come to Four Corners. "Mister, I can’t bring your son back to you but I ain’t gonna let you harm Inez or our baby. Don’t make me kill you." Buck replied, brandishing the gun in a clear indication of what would happen if he made on threatening step towards Inez. Buck did not take his gaze of the Don even though he was very aware of Inez at the moment and was fighting to keep from running to her side.

"Listen to him Alejandro." Ramirez stepped forward, trying to be the voice of reason now that it looked as if Buck might spare the old man’s life. "We both knew what Stefano was like and though we both loved him, you as his father and I as a man who watched him grow up, we both know that he brought his fate upon himself."

"No…" The Don started to weep, the gun in his hand shaking.

Chris saw Vin emerged from his place of concealment, trying to gauge whether or not the situation was diffused. He had lowered his gun and was staring at Chris across the space between them, hoping to get some idea of whether or not he ought to stand down from optimum firing range. Vin was of the firm belief that a man had right to see his killer and did not like firing unless he had to. If Chris and Buck had found a solution to avoid that, no one was more grateful than he was. However, Chris stared back at him with that imperceptible look in his ice-cold eyes and shook his head. Vin nodded slightly and even though he did not answer, had enough faith in Chris’ judgement not to question the order. Once again, he withdrew back into his position, raising the Winchester to capture the man in his sights once again.

Chris did not leave anything to chance and the Don was just unstable enough to warrant the caution. As he started to weep, his mind descending deeper into the abyss of madness, Chris knew that until he was disarmed, there was no guarantee of anything. With Inez still close enough to bear the brunt of his insanity should he chose to attack, Chris was not gambling with the lives of his friends on the possibility of Ramirez convincing Paulo to stand down. They did not have much time but Chris would allow Ramirez his chance to resolve this amicably because Buck did not look as if he wanted to kill the man when his mind had become feeble.

However, as he inched closer to Inez, Chris realised that time was a factor here and quite a big one because she was no longer paying much attention to any of the proceedings taking place around her. Instead, Inez was struggling to contain the pain that was racking her body as her time drew closer and closer. Her attempts to hide her pain was becoming harder and harder to achieve and he saw how her fingers were starting to clench into fists, very soon the contractions would become unbearable. She needed help and she needed it now.

Suddenly, Paulo noticed that he was moving towards Inez and screeched like a man possessed. "Stay away from her!" He shouted, the gun lowered immediately move back into firing position and he swung it in Chris’ direction.

"Alejandro, no!" Ramirez cried out, taking a step towards Paulo as he tried to keep him from doing anything foolish because Ramirez knew about Vin Tanner while the Don did not.

"You are now siding against me too!" Paulo turned an accusatory eye at the servant who had served him faithfully for two decades and then fired the gun in his hands. "Traitor!" He screamed as the bullet escaped his gun and slammed into Ramirez’s chest.

In the background, Chris heard Inez as things slowed to a crawl as the events unfolded like they were mired in amber even though the time passed was only seconds long. Ramirez flew backwards from the force of the gunshot, his chest spilling open with red as he tumbled backwards. His eyes displayed shock at first and then as the realisation of the dying to come dawned on him, his expression disintegrated into one of sadness as he understood that it was too late to save Don Paulo, perhaps it had always been. The Don had been dead from the moment he embarked upon this destructive course, just as he himself soon would be. All that was he bled out of his wounded shell before his body even touched the ground.

"Buck get down!" Chris shouted a split second later as Don Paulo turned towards Inez and prepared to fire. Chris continued the advance that he had been making towards her and skidded to the ground beside her as Paulo took aim. He saw Buck drag JD to his knees, keeping the youth out of the range of any incidental fire. The last thing that Chris managed to do before the inevitable came to its conclusion was to cover Inez’s body with his. Chris did not have to see but knew that somewhere not far from where they were, Vin Tanner was about to end this once and for all.

The sharpshooter had fired his weapon over far greater distances that what was now required of him and was poised to act, the moment he had seen the Don gun down on his own men and was preparing to do the same to Inez. The entire drama unfolded in seconds but Vin was patient and he had been ready for the possibility ever since Chris had signalled for him to hold position and Chris was seldom wrong about such things. He would have pulled the trigger already but chose to wait until his friends had taken cover. When he saw Buck pull JD down to safety, Vin fired.

The loud discharge sent a single bullet flying out of the barrel of his Winchester rifle, crossing the space between him and the target in a blink of an eye. He saw the man jerk back as the hot lead struck the Don n the centre of his forehead. It tore through the man’s skin, creating a fissure of broken flesh before continuing on the journey that destroyed everything the man was or ever would be before the back of his skull was erupted outwards. Blood, bone and grey matter exploded in a gruesome ejecta of red that sprayed the radius of the immediate area and turned the ground crimson with colour.

Inez let out a horrified scream as she saw Don Paulo die as his life faded out in that one instant. There was not even enough time for him to register surprise or a scream and when he finally tumbled to the ground, his eyes were wide open for there had not been even time for that. The gun was still clutched in his lifeless hand in a deathly grip, without even the opportunity for his brain to send the message to his hand to shoot. She watched him in death, blood expanding from his shattered skull and creating a crimson crown around his head and felt the same remorse that most of Val Verde would feel when they learnt of his death. He had been a great man once upon a time and like all those who had grown up in this village, she had looked up to him. It did not sit well with her that she had been party to the death of the father as well as the son.

It took a few seconds for the shock to dissipate and the tension to ease from the moment as they realised that the danger was over for now. When it did, Buck immediately scrambled towards Inez and captured her in his arms as they engaged in a warm embrace that was part joy, part gratitude but mostly relief that they were still alive and had a good chance of coming out of this entire affair the same way.

"We got to get moving." Chris interrupted the tender exchange because they were not out of trouble yet. Predictably, it was the gunslinger that had taken stock of their situation in the past few seconds and decided that action was needed now. While she might be happy to see Buck, Chris knew that she would soon be in a very bad way and none of them here was equip to deal with her condition. Inez needed a doctor and she needed one right now. Besides, Chris wanted to be away from Val Verde as quickly as possible. Even though Inez needed a room to deliver her baby, Chris did not think that she was going to get that luxury. If the villagers held the Don in such high esteem, it was likely that they would take great exception to those who had been responsible for the man’s death. They needed to leave Val Verde before the entire town came after them with pitchforks.

"JD," Chris glanced at the young man who was smiling happily that Buck and Inez were together. While Chris shared that sentiment, he needed JD focussed right now. "Go find us a wagon and bring here right now, we’re moving out. Meet up with Vin and take him with you to cover your back."

"Sure Chris." JD answered purposefully, glad that they were finally getting out of this place. Less than a second later, JD was on his feet and was hurrying towards the tracker who had been approaching to join them. As he heard in the distance, JD relating to Vin what was happening, Chris turned to Buck and Inez who were still holding each other. Chris found a faint smile crossing his lips as he decided for the moment anyway, that there was no reason for him to interrupt them.

After everything they had both been through today, Chris figured they had earned a quiet moment.

* * *

The wagon rolled up to them a few minutes later with Vin at the reins and JD riding shotgun. The gun battle where Josiah, Nathan and Ezra were occupying the remainder of Don Paulo’s men was starting to become sporadic and Chris knew that the time was not better for a hasty departure. They could get their horses as soon as the others were retrieved. By this time, Inez was well and truly into labour being unable to move with the fierce contractions that were forcing small cries of pain from her lips each time she exerted any physical action. Buck and Chris had to carry her into the back of the wagon before he could give Vin the signal to get them out away from here.

As the wagon thundered towards the main gate where the others were presently situated, Chris gave last instructions to everyone about what was to be done when they got there. Buck was in the back tray of the wagon next to Inez, who was struggling to control the contractions that were no longer allowing her a period of respite.

"Okay Buck, you let us take care of things." Chris instructed one last time as he saw the gates coming closer in front of the wagon. "You and Inez keep your heads down, its gonna get a little rough from here on."

"I hear you." Buck nodded in understanding and gave Chris a look that said without any doubt that he trusted Chris to handle things.

Chris nodded slightly and gave Inez a reassuring smile. "Hang on just a little longer," he said with more warmth that was customary for him. "We’ll get you help."

"Thank you Chris." She replied her voice little more than a strained whisper. She tightened her hold of Buck and was glad that he was here with her because she was a little afraid of what was coming even though she told herself these past nine months that when the moment arrived, she would face it fearlessly. It was strange how the reality was nothing the good intentions preceding it.

Chris straightened himself onto his knees and caught sight of Josiah on the top of the stone gate, preparing to reload. Ezra and Nathan were still pinned behind the gate and it appeared that a stalemate was in order with no signs of either side being driven back or advancing. It suited Chris just fine; they were not here to win anything, to retrieve their lost friends. With that done, there was no reason to continue fighting and besides, there were more urgent issues pending at the moment. As the wagon rumbled towards the gate, he saw Josiah lower his gun long enough to see their approach.

"Ready, JD!" Chris yelled as he pulled out his gun and prepared to lay down a little suppressing fire while Josiah and the others climbed into the wagon.

"As I’ll ever be!" JD responded, never more alive when he was standing up in a fight next to Chris Larabee whom he idolised. Steeling himself for what awaited, he raised his gun and prepared for the onslaught of gunfire that would come the moment they started drawing fire away from Ezra, Nathan and Josiah for the precious seconds it would take for them to climb aboard the wagon.

"Let’s do it!" Chris said almost euphorically, as he tended to be when his adrenalin was pumping and he was ready to launch himself into another life threatening situation.

The wagon rumbled into the thick of fire and JD let loose a murderous hail of bullets to protect himself and Vin who was needed at the reins to make a hasty departure when the time was right. Chris did the same as Buck leaned over and shouted as loud as he could to the others, which was quite impressive considering all the gunshots that was exploding around him almost as deafeningly as artillery shells on a battle field. As they offered cover, Nathan and Ezra emerged from their vantagepoints and started running forward, hearing bullets rush past them when the shield of ammunition that Chris and JD were attempting to provide did not manage to quell all the gun fire coming in their direction.

"Come on!" Buck shouted as he saw Nathan and JD keeping their heads down as they ran straight for the wagon and dove in. Josiah who was still on top of the stone fence took a little longer, having to come down from his lofty position before he could reach them. The preacher hurried down the steps that lead from the walkway and jumped the rest of the way when he had half descended because the bulk of the gunfire was aimed at him. Keeping less than a hair’s breadth from the reach of the murderous artillery, Josiah moved surprisingly quickly for a man of his bulk and soon jointed the others in the back tray of the wagon.

"Glad you could join us Preacher." Buck grinned as he pulled Josiah into wagon. No sooner than the last of them were safely inside the wagon, the father to be turned to Vin at the reins. "Let’s go!" He shouted.

Vin snapped the reins hard and the horses at the head of the wagon surged forward, happy to depart this place with its exploding noises and hot lead. The wagon thundered out of the perimeter of the estate and kept going, with JD and Chris covering their escape with more gunfire until they had let the stone fence and huge gates well behind them. They paused long enough to retrieve their horse before JD took the reins of the wagon when Vin climbed onto Peso. Behind them, there were no signs of pursuit as they left the town of Val Verde. Inez, who knew something of the terrain, had managed enough focus to direct them to an obscure route across the border that was seldom travelled. She had discovered it herself during the night she had fled from Val Verde when she had stolen a horse and Don Paulo had been riding hard in pursuit.

As the sun began to set into evening sky, there was still no signs of any of the Don’s men behind them and for the moment, it appeared that perhaps Val Verde was finally in Inez Recillos ’ past.

* * *

"It ain’t wise to stop." Chris said looking at Nathan hard.

"I ain’t asking Chris," the healer returned the gunslinger’s gaze with as much intensity as Chris was giving him. Nathan rarely liked to impose himself upon anyone but when it came to the health of his friends, he would face down God himself if he thought it would make any difference. "I’m telling you, we need to stop this wagon now. We got away far enough and I can’t do what I need to if we’re tumbling about back here."

"Listen," Buck cut in. "If Nathan says we ain’t gotta a choice, we ain’t gotta a choice! I don’t care how if it’s dangerous. Hell I’ll stand guard if I got to but we are stopping!" Buck was riding the raw edge of panic. For the last few hours they had been putting as much space between themselves and the town of Val Verde and each mile of the distance achieved had been one of pure agony for Inez. Her labour was progressing slowly; not aided by the fact hat the journey back to Four Corners was slow and arduous. No longer caring about restrain, she was openly gasping in pain, driving to distraction every man who was close enough to hear it, to say nothing about the father of her child.

Chris did not like the idea of stopping but he conceded that there was little choice in the matter. "All right," he surrendered the point and looked around the flat stretch of land they were presently traversing. The spot was good for them to make camp and get good warning if they had any company in the form of the Don’s men seeking vengeance. "We’ll camp here for now."

"You hear that honey?" Buck hurried back to Inez’s side on the wagon to deliver the news. "We’re stopping."

"Oh great," she said with a sarcastic smile, needing to bite down hard. "I'm having my baby in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of men and Alex is Four Corners with my morphine!" She roared. Her skin was starting to glisten with sweat and her hair was sodden with perspiration as her body geared for release. The contractions were coming so rapidly that Inez could no longer distinguish where one began and one ended. All that made any sense to her was this overwhelming sensation of muscle spasming in readiness for the arrival of her child.

"Come on Miss Recillos ," Ezra said unable to stand her pain any more and joined them at the wagon, although the gambler was only brave enough to come no closer than the edge of the buckboard. Even though he wore a facade of utter calm as always and was a stark contrast to Buck’s anxious manner, Ezra was just as panicked under the skin as the father to be. "You don’t need to have noxious substances for the pain, I seemed to recall Alexandra having some useful breathing exercises that you needed to perform at moments like this. Remember?" He then went on to demonstrate.

"Ezra you sound like a wounded heifer." Buck retorted staring at him with distaste and unable to discern what the gambler was trying to do.

"I am merely trying to help," Ezra remarked somewhat offended by that comment, feeling ludicrous enough as it was at performing a birthing tool for a pregnant woman. "Its not as if you are being any great measure of assistance, telling the poor lady that you are going through this ordeal with her. I do not see you screaming in pain or spread out like a gourd about to erupt."

Between them, Inez winced at the visual imagery.

"Hey, it’s just as hard for me to watch this you know!" Buck protested angrily, feeling inadequate and guilty at all the agony Inez was experiencing while he was forced to sit and watch helplessly, without having Ezra to point it out.

Inez stared at both men as she listened to them trading insults back and forth and wondered if she had enough strength in her body to borrow Vin’s gun to shoot them. "HEY!" She fairly roared and stopped them speaking. "Will you two idiots knock it off! I don’t need you to start with each other when I’m about this close to killing both of you!" She capped that sentence with another gasp of pain that descended into an icy glare at the duo that immediately silenced both.

For 3.2 seconds.

"Just try the breathing again," Ezra suggested.

"I’m going to kill him!" She tried to lunge at him to wrap her fingers around his throat but her condition made that impossible. Returning to her original position with a low snarl coming from her throat and wet strands of hair dangling in front of her eyes, it had the effect of making Inez look most fearsome indeed.

Ezra stepped back out of her reach and decided that assistance was probably best administered to her by Nathan. Glancing at the healer, Ezra cleared his throat and turned to Nathan who was trying to get the necessary instruments ready for the birth that was reaching climax shortly, especially in preparation of the syringe that was full of Inez’s pain killers. "Nathan, perhaps you should give the lady a little something."

"I’m working on it." Nathan remarked, offering an obligatory answer to the gambler because he was more focussed on doing just that instead of carrying on a conversation.

"Now darlin, Ezra was only trying to help. Maybe you  _ought_  to try those exercises Alex told you to do." Buck said trying to calm her down because he had never seen her so enraged before despite being able to reach some spectacular heights when she was around him. He assumed that much of this had to do with the pain she was enduring and assumed that as long as he offered her support and a strong shoulder, he would be able to get her through this. "It could help." He added gently.

"How would you know?!" She turned on him. "Its all your lousy fault I’m in this stupid mess in the first place!" Then her mood shifted again as suddenly as the pain that was playing havoc with her body and she forgot that line of debate as another contraction arrived and tore her insides out. She groaned and suppressed it a moment later, her skin becoming slick with sweat each time she was force to exert that much restraint. Even though she sounded as if she was listening to nobody, she had heeded what Alex had told her about the need to push; knowing she could not do so until Nathan gave her permission. She had to concentrate that overwhelming need and continued to speak in hopes of doing just hat. "I mean I’m going to have a baby in the middle of..a..a....where the hell are we are, anyway?" She demanded angrily, grabbing Buck by the collar and pulling his face within inches of her.

"A prairie?" He managed to answer, not knowing what else to answer.

"A prairie!" She snorted in derision. "I am having my baby in the middle of a prairie and I’m not even married!" She started to sobs in frustration escalating Buck’s stress levels through the roof and beyond.

"Aw come on now, that ain’t gonna be for long," Buck tried to comfort her, wishing she would let go of his shirt because she was starting to unsettle him by the savage gleam in her eyes. "We’ll do it as soon as we get back to Four Corners."

"NO!" She barked and pulled him even closer so she could see the whites of his eyes when she imparted to him his next words. "I want to get married right now! Immediately! JOSIAH!" Her voice flew over the top of Buck’s head and was clearly heard over the entire prairie.

Josiah who had been trying to pacify JD who was on the verge of a nervous breakdown at being this close to woman about to deliver a baby, immediately followed the sound of his name and approached the wagon.

"Be on your guard Mr Sanchez," Ezra warned as Josiah went towards the wagon. "The lady is quite distressed and violent."

"You would be too if you had to pass a cannon ball." The preacher said coolly and continued walking towards the wagon with no signs of apprehension and leaving Ezra behind to wince at the visual imagery.

"Do something for you ma’am?" Josiah asked gently, extending his hand towards her and was not surprised when Inez took it firmly in hers and squeezed it tighter when she felt pain.

"Oh Josiah," Inez said with a smile, finding his voice more comforting than anyone else's at the moment. She could understand why so many people found comfort in his church and were able to confide in this hulk of a man. "I want to get married right now." She replied sounding almost out of breath as she spoke through her teeth because the pain was threatening to make her scream and Inez was fighting that indignity for as long as she was able.

Even Josiah had to blink at that. "Right _this_ moment?" He looked at Buck blankly and saw the groom shrugging helplessly.

"Well," she said with a neutral expression. "I was going to wait until the daisies were in bloom, you know with how they smell so good so I could have a nice garden wedding but then I thought what the hell, why don’t I do it now SINCE THIS KID IS ABOUT TO SHOW UP ANY MINUTE!"

"Okay....." Josiah nodded, not foolish enough to argue with a lady in this state of mind. She may appear incapacitated but Josiah was taking no chances in finding out otherwise. "I’ve got a bible in my saddle bag, you think you can wait that long?"

"I’m not impatient." She smiled sweetly, though her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "My social calender is quite limited at the moment so I won’t be going anywhere."

Josiah rolled his eyes and withdrew to go retrieve the required text from the saddle bag slung over his horse.

"We need a best man and a maid of honour." Inez whispered, trying to focus on this little detail so she would not be forced to push.

"I don’t think we need to get that formal darlin....." Buck countered and then saw the look she was giving him and shut up immediately on that particular point. "JD," Buck shouted at the youth who was pacing some distance away from the wagon, trying not to glance this way. "Get over here, I need a best man!"

"Mary should be here." Inez mumbled as she squinted sweat out of her eyes and her voice had became a hoarse whisper. "I wanted her to be my maid of honour."

"I know but I guess we can do this right when we get back to town." Buck said sympathetically, brushing a strand of wet hair from her face and dabbing her forehead with a handkerchief he had soaked in water to cool her brow. Suddenly a thought came to him. "Hey Vin, you too."

Vin looked almost as apprehensive about approaching the wagon as JD but eventually another cry by Inez dragged them forward, compelled forward to spare her any further aggravation, despite the knots in their stomach every time they heard her strained cries. JD looked almost ashen when he finally reached them and Buck had never seen the boy so reluctant to be anywhere. He supposed it was to be expected. JD had no business being around a woman in Inez’s condition and did not dare show fear even though it was quite apparent to anyone present. JD avoided looking any further below Inez’s neck when he finally reached them and noticed much to his surprise though he did not voice it at the time, that Vin was doing the same.

"Inez and I are going to get married right now," Buck explained as Inez was gasping out even louder with pain. Her fingers were clenched white at her sides as she groaned softly. "Vin I need you to stand in for Mary as a bridesmaid."

The sharpshooter’s eyes widened. "Why me? Ezra plays the girl better than I do."

From behind him, the gambler’s voice retorted sharply. "Because I do not have your hair!" 

Inez swore under her breath and put the matter to rest once and for all. "Because you’re _here_!"

"Oh," Vin nodded in understanding.

"And your hair is mighty purdy." Buck could not resist the adding with a grin.

Anything Vin was about to say was cut short abruptly by Inez flinging her head back and letting out a guttural scream as the latest contraction ripped through her. She dug her nails into Buck’s hand so hard that for a minute it felt like blood was being drawn. Her other hand grabbed Vin’s jacket as she used them both to brace herself as the agony shuddered through her.

"Nathan do something!" JD cried horrified by the absolute agony on Inez’s face.

"All right Inez," Nathan responded as he flung a blanket over her legs and was the picture of calm while everyone else was wearing expression of near panic. "Move your legs into place like Alex showed you." He instructed.

"Oh God!" JD gasped as he saw her flopping her legs apart. While she was modestly covered by the blanket, just the idea of the what was transpiring beneath that layer of material was more than he could handle and he went down like a ton of bricks.

"JD!" Buck exclaimed aghast as the kid fainted next to him. "Christ!" JD was out cold and after a moment, Buck decided that was probably the best thing for him.

"Nathan," Inez looked at her doctor, who she wished more than anything was Alex but at this moment had little choice but to entrust herself to him, hissed loudly. "Do you think I could have the morphine now?"

"Are you sure you want them?" Nathan looked at her concerned after making his brief examination. "You’ve only got a little ways to go."

"Nathan," she swallowed and exhaled loudly. "GIVE IT TO ME NOW!!!"

"Goddamn it Nathan!" Buck added his voice to that demand. "Will you give her something before she kills us all!" Inez capped that request with another scream of pain, pulling Buck’s shirt and Vin’s coat and dragging forward the men wearing them against her as she tried to brace herself for the contraction.

Nathan shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay." He reached for the prepared syringe hoping that it could have been avoided and then admitted begrudgingly that he was probably knew nothing about what she was going through to advise her to endure it. Placing the needle against the damp crook of her forearm, the needle broke skin without her even being aware of it. He emptied the contents of the syringe into her veins, recalling what Alex had instructed about the dosage and how powerful a drug it was. The doctor had advised against using any painkillers until the very last moment when labour was at its worst, which was why Nathan had waited as long as he did to administer it.

"I got the Bible!" Josiah said jogging back to the wagon and holding up the book for all to see.

"Thank God!" Buck sighed in relief. "Get on with it!" He ordered as he saw Inez’s lips pull back and another scream of pain cut through the night air like a banshee wailing in the dark.

"And make it fast!" Vin barked, caught up in the moment as much as his other comrades.

Josiah nodded and quickly began reciting the words that he was not even sure Inez was aware of and wondered whether or not if this was the most insane duty he had ever been called on to perform since becoming a preacher. Well that was that time, Albee Gordon wanted to marry his horse but then the man had been living alone in the wilderness for a while.

"Wait!" Buck suddenly realised and stopped Josiah before the preacher could get any further. "I don’t got a ring!"

"I believe the one who sounds like a wounded heifer may be able to assist in that regard." Ezra remarked smoothly and produced the jewelled ring that he held in keeping for the future Mrs Standish.

"Ain’t you given that to Julia yet?" Vin found himself asking.

"Leave Ezra alone," Inez said with a whimsical smile. "It’s a beautiful ring." She was no longer screaming and was instead wearing a look of serenity on her face that surprised them all except for Nathan. Considering what her demeanour had been like a short time ago, this was something of a radical change. "Ezra, I’d love to wear that ring." She flashed the gambler a smile of pure contentment.

"It’s the morphine." Nathan explained for the benefit of those who were wearing expressions of astonishment on their faces around him.

"Inez, you feeling okay?" Buck asked, his brow furrowing as he tried to accustom himself to this sudden change in her mood. While he glad that she was no longer in pain, he was still somewhat dazed at how  _pleasant_  she now appeared to be.

"Oh I’m just fine thank you." She said dreamily. "We really should get on with the ceremony." She said looking at ease and completely relaxed as she smiled at Buck radiantly and only confused him even more.

"Whatever is in that syringe, I want a bottle of it for Julia." Ezra said to Nathan with a perfectly straight face.

"Give me the ring," Buck said quickly, not wishing to waste the moment since Inez was so accommodating. He caught it with one hand as Ezra tossed it at him.

"Just remember that is a  _loan_." Ezra reminded in typical Ezra pose, having plans of his own for that particular trinket,  _some day_.

"Thanks Ez," the groom smiled and then returned his attention to Josiah. "Okay let’s wrap this up."

"And quickly," Nathan retorted, disliking this farcical turn of events to a simple delivery. "Inez, you’re ready. I want you to push."

Taking at that as a perfect cue to be conclude the ceremony, Josiah looked at Buck. "Buck, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" He decided to skip the rest of the words, deciding the specifics and fine print could be dealt with later and he was certain at this point, there was no need to be particular.

"I do," Buck said with a smile as Inez squeezed his hand and started pushing. Even through the drug that had dulled the searing pain in her abdomen, the effort of this oldest of rituals, was showing by the strained expression in her face. 

"Inez, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" Josiah asked, feeling incredibly ridiculous for asking the question, since the woman was about to deliver the man’s child at any minute.

Inez let out a gasp as she took a moment to rest and answered in a ragged whisper. "Yes, I do." She replied as Ezra’s ring was slipped over her fingers, which had unclenched long enough to allow the gesture, before resuming her labour once again. Inez started to cry from the sheer strain of what she was enduring and clutched Buck’s hand even tighter and pulling harder on Vin’s buckskins until the tracker was certain she had the strength to rip through the hide. "God it hurts!" She squealed. 

"Just a little more!" Nathan prompted in that calm voice he used to administer so much aid to those in need and comforted Inez unknowingly by its soothing resonance.

"I do believe this would be a good time to make that pronouncement, Mr Sanchez." Ezra said dutifully, garnering a look of pure Josiah Sanchez reproach as the preacher bristled at being told the obvious.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. Amen." Josiah said quickly and crossed them both before he and Ezra retreated to safe distance as Inez screamed out louder and louder. Her face had contorted into an unrecognisable grimace of pain and concentration as her muscles were forced to perform the miracle that was coming at them with the pace of a locomotive.

"I can see the head!" Nathan exclaimed with excitement and they all held their breaths collectively with that one statement. "Another push!" He insisted once again, his hands poised and ready to help the child complete its momentous journey.

"Come on darling," Buck said confidently. "You can do it."

She met his gaze and at that moment, Buck could see their entire lives together flash before his eyes. It started from this moment and would culminated in some distant future with the two of them growing old together and passing into history anonymously. Everything he had wanted, love, family and friendship twinkled in her eyes as she nodded and prepared herself to complete the last leg of this exhausting journey they had embarked upon since that first moment when he had seen her across the floor of a crowded bar room.

Without speaking, Inez turned towards Nathan and began pushing harder towards a singularity of focus, which eclipsed all others in her life until this point. Her body pulsed with tension and relaxation as instincts as old as time took hold of her body and the symphony of birth played once again. Nathan watched anxiously, feeling the familiar swell of pride that came when watching through blood and fluid, the first signs of new life struggling to enter the world. He had no idea he was holding his breath as the infant began to emerge. After all the death that he had seen in his life time, Nathan always felt renewed with hope and faith when he witnessed the simple beauty of a child arriving into the world, filled with limitless possibility.

"The head is out!" Nathan cried as the slick form of the child’s head slipped past the walls of its mother’s womb without any resistance before pausing when the force propelling it forward had exhausted itself. "One more, Miss Inez!" Nathan urged as he let out his held breath and took another deep one before he gave what was he was certain to be his final order in this delivery. "Push really hard! Give it all you got!"

Inez let out a frustrated groan of exhaustion and then bit down on her teeth so hard that the injury caused by Paulo earlier, started weeping and her teeth were soon stained with blood. She screamed as she launched herself into that final Herculean effort, her hands balling into fists in Buck’s grip and around the skin of Vin’s coat. She could not feel anything except this intense pain that was tearing her inside until her mind was filled with nothing else. There was only a haze of red that drove the sound from her ears and the sight from her eyes, making her oblivious to the pressure of the muscles pushing her child outward, allowing the whimpering babe to slid wetly into Nathan’s waiting hands.

Inez let out an exhausted groan as all the strength left her body after that monumental effort and she went limp as if all the bones had disappeared from her body and she slumped into Buck’s arms, covered in sweat while straining for breath. Buck immediately caught her body, supporting it with his own strength, unconcerned as to what came next as he wiped the moisture from her face. Vin stepped away as Inez’s grip of his coat finally slackened and he went to join Ezra and Josiah, believing this moment should be shared between Buck and Inez only. The air was charged with expectation in the long seconds that followed until Nathan looked up Inez and announced with the widest grin they had ever seen him produce, "its a girl!"

"It’s a girl!" Buck exploded with happiness as he turned to Inez again. "Did you hear that Inez! We made a girl!" In the distance he could hear Ezra and Vin making whooping sounds followed with hoots and whistles of congratulations.

"We?" She looked at him with a bemused but undoubtedly exhausted smile.

"Well I helped." He grinned sheepishly.

Suddenly, the soft plaintive cry of a baby sang through the air like a siren song that immediately captured the attention of all. Nathan approached them, still wearing that smile on his face as he carried the child forward and lowered it into Inez’s waiting arms. The babe had made its initial protest as the cool night air chilled its newborn skin but had lapsed into silence once Nathan had wrapped a blanket around its tiny form.

Inez looked at her little daughter in her arms and saw a tuft of dark, mahogany hair still wet with moisture against her tiny scalp. It was Buck’s colour; Inez realised with a slight gasp of emotion that moved through her like a shudder and threatened to spill out of her eyes like a deluge. Small and wrinkly, with perfect skin that looked a little tanned and eyes that were closed at the moment, possibly as because she was just as exhausted if not more than Inez, the baby was everything that Inez had imagined, perhaps even more. Inez did not realise she was crying until the tears ran down her cheek.

"She’s beautiful." Inez heard Buck whisper as he looked upon the face of his daughter. He felt his entire world shift the moment he stared into that little face, full of unknowing innocence, relying upon him to protect her. At that instant, Buck realised with perfect clarity that there was nothing he would not do for this child or its mother.

"Hello." Inez cooed softly at the baby even though it appeared to be asleep. "Oh Buck," Inez swallowed as her voice quivered with emotion. "She’s so small, so pretty."

Buck smiled as he drew Inez close enough to plant a small kiss in her hair as he held his wife and their new daughter in his arms. With a slight smile, Buck knew without doubt there was nothing finer than this moment when he knew that his world was at last complete.

Although the words spoken by her grateful and rather teary parents were meaningless to a mind minutes old from the womb, Baby Wilmington did react to the auditory stimuli and opened her new eyes to gaze upon her parents, much to their delight. She looked around her surroundings and took note of the world at large, which made no sense to her whatsoever before coming to the conclusion that it could wait until later to unravel.

For now, she would sleep.

* * *

 

For Chris Larabee who had been absent for most of this debacle, he was quite happy to remain a suitable distance from all the commotion, warming his hands around the campfire he had made. By the time that high pitch wail of Baby Wilmington had been heard across the empty plains and the prairie which they presently occupied, he had worked his way through half a flask of whiskey with no repentance whatsoever at staying out of the line of fire.

Besides, it had been too much fun listening to all of them and as he heard the shouting, the sarcasm and glib remarks, Chris was inordinately glad that he had chose to make that decision to stay right where he was. As far as pregnancy and labor was concerned, he had been there and done that and it was hard enough when he was pacing the floor outside the room, let alone imagine the horror of what it was like to be inside it.

As he took another swig of his whiskey, hearing the bickering that had been produced by his six friends as they had tried to deal with Inez’s pregnancy, Chris had only one thing to say on the entire subject;

 _Amateurs_.

 


	9. Elena Rose Wilmington

 

Julia would have preferred it if Ezra were still town when she made her final meeting with Mr Clements. As per his hasty instructions when he had departed Four Corners to rescue Inez and JD from the men who had dark plans in store for both of them, Julia now found herself facing the moment of truth. Waiting at her desk, her fingers drummed a steady rhythm against the polished wood in anticipation of the man’s arrival. She allowed herself to feel fear in order to control it in order to carry out the ruse that was necessary for her anonymity to be ensured. Inwardly, even Julia knew that her days of running were over that if this man could find her once, then the one who came after her would have little difficulty repeating the same discovery.

As much as she loathed admitting it, Ezra was right; she could not keep running. She had a life here and friends who might be willing to stand up for her if the need ever arose and such friendship was too precious to Julia to discard it, to say nothing of the life she had forged herself here. Unimaginable as it appeared to be at this time, Julia knew one day she would have to look upon her father and tell him that she was done with him. The idea not only horrified her but it shook her self-assured core to its foundations. She had a persona of strong will and independence which she had worn around herself like a magic cloak that had the power to drive the nightmares and the revulsion of her childhood away like a bad dream.

Julia had told herself she would never play the victim for anyone ever again and had lived her life that way. She had become the user, the manipulator, the one who caused the hurt and it felt good being so empowered. It was only during the nights, in the darkness where no one could see did she feel the remorse and the fear that no one knew existed. Even if Clemens agreed to what she would proposed to him shortly, it was no guarantee that her secret life here would not be exposed to her father. However, in the last few days she had seen how determined Ezra was to protect her and knew that with him at her side she might be able to withstand the storm that would come if Donald Avery made his arrival in Four Corners.

There were also other things she could do to protect herself and along with her preparations to deal with Mr Clemens, Julia made secondary provisions for herself. If it came down to it, her fortune would be protected just as would her Emporium which unbeknownst to anyone but her lawyer in Eagle Bend, that entire business now belonged unconditionally to one William Travis. Since the boy was not of legal age, naturally the property would be held in trust and executed by his mother. Of course she ensured that she still held controlling interest even though the proprietor of the Pemberton Emporium, at least on paper, was Billy. There was no need for Mary to know unless Julia suddenly needed to vanish. There were other preparations in waiting which Julia prayed she would never have to use but felt secure knowing they were in place.

Perhaps she might even tell Ezra about them.

Julia practically jumped out of her chair when she heard the subtle knocking on her door and she swallowed visibly, driving this intense fear from her being because the negotiations about to transpire, hinged on how well she could play out the charade. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, the knocked a second time before Julia finally responded.

"Please come in."

The door knob twisted and Clemens came into the room, wearing a long travelling coat and appeared to be ready for his journey in an hour or so when the stage finally made its arrival in Four Corners to spirit him away back to the East. Clemens seemed rather surprised to see that she was still here and Julia ventured a guess that he had believed she would have fled rather than face him.

"Miss Aver...I mean Miss Pemberton." He corrected himself when he saw her stiffening upon mention of her old name.

"Mr Clemens," Julia pulled back her lips in a smile. "Please sit."

"I do not have a great deal of time, Miss Pemberton." The man remarked as he removed his hat and sat down. "I hope our business can be concluded quickly and amicably." His gaze shifted across the room, searching it for a few seconds before returning to her. "I take it Mr Standish won’t be joining us."

"Mr Standish is away on business in a law enforcement capacity," Julia replied casually as if it did not make the slightest bit of difference that Ezra was absent, even though in truth she wished he were here more than anything in the world, but understood his reasons completely. "It will just be us."

"That serves me well enough." Clemens answered, glad that the gambler with the shrewd wit would not be present. "Now, you wanted me to return some money back to Philadelphia?" He looked at her.

"Yes," Julia nodded and opened up the account book on her desk to the appropriate page. When she arrived where she needed to be, she retrieved a single slip of paper and handed it to him. "Here you are, the receipt that proves I have deposited the sum of $50, 000 to a bank account in Philadelphia in your name. I am assuming that you live there."

"Yes," Clemens brow furrowed, not like this at all. "I do but it I thought I was taking a cheque made out to your father." A bank account in his name not only placed him in a compromising position but was also highly irregular and made him inordinately uncomfortable.

Julia returned his trouble expression with one of complete calm. "I realise but the situation has changed. I would like to remain in Four Corner but I find that I can accept the possibility that my father might find me and so I came to a different arrangement with Mr Standish."

Clemens swallowed hard; suddenly realising that he might be in a great deal of trouble. "What kind of arrangement?" He asked reluctantly, filled with a sixth sense that he was not going to be happy with her answer.

"I have two letters in my hand. There are you copies of course. She produced the sealed envelopes and held it up for him to see them both. "One is addressed to the Pinkerton Agency and another is addressed to my father."

He did not show any signs of anxiety but beads of sweat were starting to form on his skin. He did not speak because the envelopes she was holding in her hand was addressed to Pinkerton and Donald Avery. "What do you intend to do?" He asked after a moment, licking his lips as he found himself in a most untenable situation.

"The question is what would you have me do?" She looked at him with a brow raised with almost glacial indifference to his fear. "If you go back to Philadelphia with reports of my whereabouts, I guarantee you before the day is out, both Pinkertons and my father will have a copy of these letters. A lawyer in Philadelphia has already been procured to hand deliver them to both parties. In my correspondence to my father and  _your_  employer, I will reveal to them that I was forced to flee Four Corners penniless because you tracked me down and offered me a stay of execution if I would turn the money over to you. I will make a most convincing argument that you allowed me a head start and had every intention of returning to Philadelphia and telling them both your attempts to find me had failed. If that does not convince them, I am certain the fifty thousand dollars they will find in your new account will."

"You wouldn’t..." Clements stammered.

"Try me Sir." Julia said coldly. "At the very least, Pinkertons will fire you, at the most they’ll have you charged with blackmail and coercion." She leaned closer, making each word imprint itself on his mind like venom in the veins. "It will be mild in comparison to what my father would do to you. By the time he is done with you, I doubt you will be able to find employment as a stable boy. Donald Avery will destroy you."

Clemens found himself shuddering, aware that her words were true. Pinkertons was extremely mindful about the morality of its agents and even if the charge could not be proven the stain would remain and he would still be discharged. He could not imagine life outside the agency and her threat that Donald Avery would take him apart for such a deception was not idle either. He had much to lose and thanks to his naivette, she had taken advantage of that and used it quite spectacularly.

"You have a wife and three children don’t you?" Julia persisted, feeling intense guilt inside but brushed the emotion away because this was a matter of survival, hers. "It will be most hard on them."

Bringing up his family had the desired effect and she could see the worry lines etched in his face as he considered the ramifications of what his disgrace would wreak upon them. Aside from being penniless, he children would be branded the sire of a thief and a blackmailer. He could not even imagine trying to explain this to them. Finally, he looked up at the face of the woman he had underestimated a great deal. He had expected her to use her feminine wiles to coax him into forgetting about her; Clemens had not counted on her mental acumen. His family meant too much to him, more than the prestige of bringing this woman home to her father.

"What do you want?" He asked with a resigned sigh of defeat.

Julia did not smile, having no wish to lord her victory over him when all she wanted was to be forgotten and left alone with the life she had made for herself in Four Corners. "I want you to go home and tell him that you found me in Four Corners where you confronted me about coming home, to which I refused most profusely. You will tell them that I fled town and sold my interests in town and you do not know where I went. Accomplish that and I will see to it that the bank account is emptied and the letters never surface."

"What is to stop me from telling your father everything?" Clemens demanded.

"Nothing at all." Julia retorted, "but there will be an investigation and it will be your word against mine with the money in the bank to prove that there was some impropriety. Can you honestly say Pinkerton would not discharge you rather than wrestle with the possibility that one of their own might be tainted? My father would crush you just to be sure."

"I could wait until you clear me to reveal what I know." He pointed out.

"The letter will not surface as long as I say and my lawyers are creative, they can make the money appear miraculously again. Do not make the mistake of thinking for a moment that I will not have someone taking stock of my interests. By the time you make your allegations, I will know about it and have disappeared from here. All that will be left is your reputation in ruins. I am hardly worth that much to you."

She was right, she was not. Clemens swallowed thickly and rose to his feet after a moment. He put his hat back on his head and stared at her. "My compliments Miss Pemberton, a perfect checkmate."

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I do not wish it this way but I have my reasons. I pray you do not test me in the matter Sir, I do this because I must, not because I like it."

"He won’t stop searching for you." Clemens stated as he started walking towards his door. "You must know that."

"I do," Julia nodded sombrely. "I can’t stop him from trying but I can slow him down."

Despite the unfortunate circumstances she had placed him, Clemens felt no real malice towards her and wondered what motivated such a fierce desire to remain hidden. He had met many women in his time and during his line of work to know that she was unique and she had played their game well. While he always sorry to lose, he did not wish her ill. "I bid you farewell Miss Pemberton," Clemens replied. "Your father will not learn from me your whereabouts and I hope you are kinder to that one who comes after me."

"I hope the one who comes after you is as much a gentleman." She answered, having to admit that he was that even in defeat.

Pity, she had not been a lady in achieving her victory.

* * *

A week following the birth of Inez and Buck Wilmington’s daughter, whom both parents had agreed to name Elena Rose Wilmington, a belated wedding reception of sorts was held at the newly weds residence with only their close friends in attendance and a few exceptions. Paloma Recillos had been so thrilled to have her daughter back safe and sound, not to mention  _married_  that she managed to forgive Inez for her indiscretion. She was delighted at her new grandchild and less than impressed by her new son-in-law and took charge of Inez’s convalescence at home with the dedication of a general on the battlefield. Naturally, this led to all sorts of arguments between Buck and Paloma until Inez was forced to intercede occasionally by sending them to their respective corners to think about what they had done.

"I can understand Elena," Mary replied as she and Inez looked on while Alex conducted a short examination of the child’s state of health inside the nursery. "But why Rose?"

"Rose is Buck’s mother’s name." Inez said with a smile as she watched her newborn cooing gently in her crib as Alex continued her ministrations. The little girl did not seem to mind and stared at the doctor with her big brown eyes, drawing a smile even through Alex’s usual professional detachment. "I thought it would be nice."

"It is a great name isn’t it Elena?" Alex remarked looking at Elena with a smile. "You do look like an little rose." With that, she swaddled Elena in her blanket and handed her back to her mother. "Perfect down to her little toes which I can never figure out how since she came from Buck."

"Leave him alone," Inez said coming to his defence because she knew what he had endured the past week. "He’s been going through enough hell with my mother as it is."

"So when is Paloma leaving?" Mary inquired as the three women walked out of the nursery into the common room of the house where some of their friends and family were gathered.

"The day after tomorrow." Inez replied as she rocked little Elena gently in her arms. "She is going to live with her sister in Ciudad Juarez. My aunt Dominica has a big house and her husband is gone. I hear there is work there so mama will be going with Calla."

"Speaking of Calla," Alex said with a grin. "You might want to tell her about the situation between Casey and JD before it gets ugly." She gestured to the trio in question at the far end of the room.

Calla was staring adoringly at JD, batting her lashes at the youth in the age old ritual of seduction that could not be mistaken for anything else and JD, whose experience with women was as limitless as his ability to cope with pregnant ones, was rather taken by the attention. Unfortunately, Casey who was standing at his side was pointing daggers at them both and the three women estimated that it would not be long before the entire situation decayed into a screaming match.

"Uh Oh." Mary declared, raising a brow.

Inez was about to speak when she heard Buck’s voice exploding, followed by the shrill voice of her mother spewing colourful Mexican expletives for all to hear. This was hardly a novel situation and Inez rolled her eyes in resignation wondering if there was any way she could escape being caught between them.

"Goddamn it woman, quit dogging me or I’ll put a bullet into you." Buck bellowed as he came into the house, searching for Inez, with Paloma following closely behind. "Inez, would you kindly tell your mother that I am not some kind of a drunk because I decide to have a drink with my friends!" Buck implored when he crossed the floor and reached her.

"How could you marry this stupid, big oaf!" Paloma cried out. "He has no responsibility, drinking when his daughter is only a week old!"

"Well I was going to wait until she was older before I offered her something but she seems to only like milk and straight from the tap!" Buck growled, glaring at the woman.

Inez, Mary and Alex could only watch opened mouth as the two of them descended into another fierce bout of arguing and completely forgot that they had come to Inez for mediation. Shaking her head, the new mother took her child and her friends away from the scene of the carnage and headed towards the kitchen.

"I think cake is in order." Inez remarked, deciding that she was not stepping into the middle of their altercation until blood was spilled.

"Oh I say that was for sure." Alex agreed trying to hide the snigger that was threatening to steal across her face.

"Not for me," Mary confessed, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "I have not been feeling well lately."

"Oh?" Alex turned to her, always concerned when one of her friends made such statements.

"It’s nothing," Mary shrugged. "I’m just off my food. It’s probably a stomach bug."

"Well," Alex said sceptically, never incline to dismiss anything when it came to someone’s health. "Come see me if it gets worse. As it is I’m inclined to think that it  _is_  serious."

"Why?" Mary looked at her strangely. "It’s just a stomach bug."

"I know," Alex nodded and said with a teasing smile. "But you never say no to cake."

Mary started groaning about how overly cautious Alex was being about her ailment while the doctor returned with just how rare it was that Mary refused cake, citing in particular the time that Mary had a cold and still manage to Billy out to get confectionary. Inez strolled away from the scene of yet another heated conversation, cradling Elena in her arms relatively unconcerned; Alex could readily take care of any blood spilled if necessary.

She walked to the front door of the house and saw her friends enjoying the sunshine in the garden outside. Josiah was leading Lilith around on his horse not too far away with Audrey calling out to her daughter to be careful despite the preacher’s assurances that she was perfectly safe. Audrey was one of the few people that Inez had invited today and seeing how wonderfully she and Josiah got along made Inez doubly pleased.

Meanwhile Ezra was trying to convince Billy Travis that it was probably best if he went to play with Lilith for awhile since the young boy had been following the gambler and Julia, more specifically Julia really, all day since Chris and Mary had arrived. Rain waved at her from the table and motioned her to come out of the house to which Inez nodded the affirmative, even though she was happy where she was for the moment. Rain was at the table of food, picking selections onto her plate and frowning at Nathan when he came up behind her and stole a piece of chicken with his fingers.

Under the shade of nearby tree, Chris Larabee sat with whatever he was drinking, looking completely relaxed as he enjoyed the delicious heat on his face and appeared nothing like the hardened gunslinger they had all come to know. She saw Vin Tanner picking up Billy Travis and putting the kid over his shoulders, in an effort to rescue him from Ezra before the southerner got it in his mind to challenge the kid to a duel over Julia’s time this afternoon. Inez watched her family and all their craziness, with a smile of contentment on her lips before looking down at her baby.

"You know something, my little rose?" Inez spoke to the child who had since fallen asleep in her arms. "We have a strange family." She said looking up at the people in her life who had made this little bundle in her arms possible with their friendship and support. "But I think you’ll like them very much."

 

**THE END**

 

 

 


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